Fearless Runner
by DauntlessRunner46
Summary: What happens when Tobias enters the Maze? Based after Allegient, he has lost his memory... although he remembers a girl... Read and find out what happens! This is actually my first continuous fanfic so it'll be great to get some reviews from you guys :-)
1. Entering the Maze

**hey guys! Thanks for taking the time to read this!**

**Disclaimer: yes, I know, I don't own the Maze Runner... Or Divergent... Hmm**

As he awoke, he had no idea of where he was, where he was going or who he was. The cold stale air that surrounded him was heavy with dust that burned his throat when he breathed. Like any person enclosed in pitch dark, he knew there was something very wrong. Frightened, he stepped backwards only to find himself hitting a metal wall. His breath quickened and he began gulping down air. As metal ground against metal, he figured out one thing about himself, he was definitely claustrophobic. Finding the edge of the small container that trapped him, he slid to the floor and brought his legs to his chest, and focused on his breathing. For some reason he felt as though he had been through this situation countless of times, but he could not remember when, how or why.

To make matters worse, the box took a sudden jerk as though it had been brought to life and began to sky rocket higher and higher into the darkness. As the boy ascended, the smell of burnt oil and rust disturbed his senses and made him feel nauseated. Still, he continued to force his breathing to slow and willed the tears to never come. He felt as though he must not destroy the fear he held, but instead control it.

As his breathing finally slowed a thought came to mind. _My name is Tobias._ That was it, the only primary detail he could remember about himself. Although, as he continued searching his subconscious… he remembered a girl. With blond hair that fell to her shoulders and bluish grey eyes. Soon enough a name came to mind, _Tris_. Curious as to how he had no memory about anything or anyone else, even his past; he continued trying to **remember** anything else about the girl. He remembered her falling into a net, but why would she do that? Especially considering he had a feeling he had done the same thing once. He remembered kisses they had shared. Some at the bottom of a chasm, with water roaring around them, or others on a train. Although, he couldn't rid his mind of a single kiss that lead to much more.

More confused than ever, questions kept creeping into his thoughts. _How did I get here? Where am I going? Who am I?_ That was the one, the one question that Tobias could not bring himself to confront. The only memories of his past life all included a girl. When he was pulling away his hands from his face, he saw a tattoo on his wrist. It was the number 6 mashed together with the number 4. Somehow he felt that this symbolised a lot to him, but he couldn't remember why. As time went by, Tobias became accustomed to the swaying, his legs where now stretched out in front of him and his head rested against the metal behind him. After what he guessed was an hour and a half, but felt like eternity to him passed, the box let out one final screech and slowly it began to come to a halt. Before it stopped entirely, he managed to pull himself up and hold on to a metal bar beside him. As the box finally came to a halt, he almost fell but he was able to keep himself upright by gripping the metal tighter.

He stood there deliberating his next move. He knew it would not be wise to scream; who is to say there would be 'friends' on the outside. After a few moments later, he began moving in the darkness, hands feeling the walls in search of a way out. Nothing. His hands would only skim over metal and what he believed was the occasional spider web. He groaned and hit the wall in frustration as he heard the echo sound through the empty space below, an idea came to mind. There must be something above him. He lunged into the air with his arm stretched as high as possible. His hand barley reached the top of the box. He jumped once more, this time his fist connected with the lid which resulted in a loud _bang_.

He hardly had the chance to register the pain in his hand as he heard a voice that he guessed belonged to a boy, "Keep your nickers on Slinthead." _Slinthead, _Tobias thought. He heard the clank of metal above him. He looked up he saw a straight strip of light widening. As the light poured in, it burned his eyes and forced him to look away, down at the floor with his hand gripping the metal next to him. He heard voices above him resulting in him gripping the metal tighter.

"Whoa, he has a tattoo!"

"How old do you think he is?"

"Man, I swear it didn't stink thaaaaat bad when I came up."

"Hope you enjoyed the ride Greenie."

"It's a one-way trip, bro."

"That shank looks pissed."

Tobias forced himself to look up and let his eyes adjust to the light. At first he saw indistinguishable figure. But as seconds ticked by his eyes adjusted and what he saw in front of him confused him more, if that was even possible.

Boys, teenage boys to be exact, all of them chattering between themselves and some of them pointing. As he watched on curious, someone lowered a rope with a loop at the end of it. After a moment's hesitation, he decided it was the best chance he had to get out of this 'cage'. He stepped on the loop with his left foot and gripped the rope with both hands. As he was lifted upwards hands reached for him, heaps of them. All grabbing his clothes and wrenching him up and out of the box. Strangely enough, even though he was surrounded by strange faces and the world felt as though it was spinning, he felt no fear. As he fell flat on his back, he noticed the voices had died down and soon enough it was practically silent. Soon enough he heard someone say something. Something he knew would change his life, "Nice to meet ya, shank," the boy said. "Welcome to the Glade."

please leave a review! Hopefully I'll update in two days or so.


	2. Introductions

**Hello** **everyone! Here's the next chapter of "Fearless Runner"! Hope you enjoy!**

_"Nice to meet ya, shank," the boy said. "Welcome to the Glade."_

Hearing those words somehow, triggered something in Tobias. He got up on his own, oblivious to the outstretched hands around him. As the sun penetrated his vision, he staggered a bit. Curiosity was running through him like blood, somehow, he managed to piece together his surroundings. Boys stood there staring at him, most sniggering. Tobias new close to nothing about himself, but he knew this, he is not the type of person that allows himself to be stepped on. As one of the boys attempts to poke him in the arm, he grabs it without even thinking, as though it was a natural reflex. He turns his head to look at the boy, his eyes have gone wide.

"Do you want to keep that finger?" Tobias asks quietly. His voice is deep; it frightens him that he doesn't recognise it as his own. The boy nods, "Than if I were you, I wouldn't do that again." He lets go.

"Well look at that," a different boy says, "first time a _Greenie_ stood up to us." Several boys snigger. Tobias ignores the boys comment and looks around.

"Slim it Gally, at least he didn't wet his pants like you did." The boy, Gally, doesn't say another word. It looks as though there are at least fifty boys, all varying in age, colour and height.

"Where am I?" Tobias asked eyeing the 100 metre high cement walls that made a perfect square around what resembled a massive courtyard in which they stood.

"Nowhere good." A boy with dark skin replies, the same one that greeted him. "Usually we have to tell greenies like you to slim it," he continues, "guess this time is different."

"Which Keeper's he gonna get." A boy with a shrill voice asks.

"My guess is a Slopper." A boy replies, a few laugh as though he just said something hilarious. Chatter break out among the boys and the boy with dark skin speaks up, "Keep yapping and your next break will be cut in half." _He must be their leader. _ Tobias thought to himself. The boy wore a permanent scowl, but other than that he looked like any average teenage boy, hair cut short and face cleanly shaven.

"It's a long story shank. Piece by piece you'll learn. I'll be taking you on the Tour tomorrow. Till then… just don't brake anything." He held a hand out. "Names Alby." He waited with his hand outstretched, but Tobias wasn't quick to take it. But he then realised that where ever he was, he needed 'friends'. He extended his hand and said, "Tobias." He shook once and let go. For some reason it felt strange to him.

"The box came late today so there's no time for the Tour, we'll do it tomorrow after the wake up, Good that?" Tobias only nodded. _Shank. Slopper. Greenie._ These and other words rattled his brain as he had no idea what they meant. Yet, all the boys spoke it as if it were a part of normal language. He turned towards another boy. "Get him a bed, and to sleep."

"Good that." The boy turned to Tobias. He had blond hair that cascaded over his shoulders slightly. He extended his hand, "My names Newt." Tobias shook it, again feeling awkward. Alby began to speak once more, "Look, none of us new jack on the first day, but in a few weeks we were happy and helpin', you too." Tobias tried to hind the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Wait, you didn't remember _anything_?" Tobias asks, looking at Alby and the crowd.

Alby and a few other boys shook their heads, "No," Alby spoke up, "Do you?" At first Tobias planned on saying 'no', but then he realised that maybe they could help him somehow. And later on if they discovered that was a lie, they could think he was up to something. Tobias didn't respond, instead he went and sat by a tree, giving his sore legs and back a rest. Alby's eyes slightly widened, "Everybody clear out!" Alby yelled out, "Newt, stay here." Newt nodded his head still looking at Tobias as if he were insane. All the boys did as they were told, but they all continued to talk to each other.

"Spit it out Greenie, what do you remember." Alby says, almost as though he is angry. Tobias glared at him, "I haven't done anything wrong." He said in a low voice, "It isn't even anything major."

"Tobias," Newt said. He turned to face him, "Just tell us."

He sighed, "A girl. I think her name was Tris."

"Do you know what she was to you?" Newt asked. Tobias pushed past the annoyance that he had called her a _what. "_I think she might have been my girlfriend." is all he says.

"Why do you think that?" Tobias feels his face redden and he looks away.

"I have some memories."

"By the looks of that blush it looks like it was more than kissing." Alby says. Tobias gives him a hard glare. He puts his hands up in defence. "Do you remember anything else, anything at all?"

"I told you that's all there was." Tobias replied, "Like I said, it's nothing important."

"What do you think it means?" Newt asks Alby.

The leader looks at the ground, "I don't know. I do know this; it doesn't seem too serious at the moment. Just keep it quiet for the time being. Got it?" Tobias nodded. And with that Alby took off to a wooden building in the corner of the court yard. Tobias sat there replaying everything that had happened to him so far. In the end only one question was lodged into his mind; _why did they put me in here?_

"Who knows?" Newt says. Tobias hadn't realised he said that out loud. "But look, Toby- is it alright if I call you that, its quicker and easier that Tobias?" The name made him feel like a little boy.

"Umm, no." Tobias said. "Just call me…" For some reason a number came to mind, "Four." The boy looked at him in confusion. All he did was shrug his shoulders. "It sounds like I know it as a name- and obviously a number." He added when Newt still looked confused.

"Four it is." Newt responded. He clapped his left hand on Tobias' shoulder, "What you're feelin', we've all felt it. Things are bad, I'm not going to mess around with you like some people would. Soon enough things will start to look up, and I can tell you're not a bloody sissy, heck, I think everyone got that." Tobias rolled his eyes; so far the only decent person he met in here was Newt. "Chuck'll be a good fit for ya." Newt continued, "Wee little fat shank, but he's alright. We're guessing he's only about thirteen though. I'll go fetch him for ya." As soon as Newt is finished, a scream of pure terror rips through the yard. Tobias felt his blood run cold and his body tense. He scanned for its source; the boy was in the wooden hut, the same one Alby had entered moments ago. Newt, who had even jumped a little when he heard the scream, let out a sigh and lightly kicked the other boy's foot. "Go and find Chuckie boy, tell him he's in charge of your sleeping arrangements." Then he took off running towards the slanted building. When he was a few metres he yelled out, "Stop scowling, you look like Alby." Not even realising he was scowling, Tobias relaxed his face. He obviously didn't know much about himself, but one thing was clear from the beginning, he wasn't a very happy person. And to be honest, this day wasn't making that any better.


	3. Good and Bad

Tobias hadn't a care to find this 'Chuck' kid now, so he laid his head on the tree trunk and closed his eyes. He knew that soon enough he would have to get up and try get out of this nightmare. In order to do that he had to first calm down and set his thoughts straight. He started by making a list in his head. 1- He has no memory of his past life except of a girl. 2- He was trapped along with at least fifty other boys that have all been in this situation which means most of them would mean him no harm. But like anywhere else there're always those who never bothered for kindness. Thus, he had to keep his guard up until he pin pointed those people.

For now that's all he could state. All of a sudden he heard metallic clicking above him. Opening his eyes and looking up, he saw a flash of silver metal and red light, but it then disappeared behind the tree trunk.

"That's one of 'em beetle blades." someone said. Tobias looked towards where the voice came from. There stood, who he guessed was Chuck. He was quite short and chubby. Like Newt had said, he only looked about thirteen. His brown hair hung over his ears and neck, nearly touching his shoulders.

"They don't hurt you, unless your… jacked enough to touch it." He sounded uncomfortable saying the word 'Jacked'. As though he hadn't quite grasped the slang yet.

Another ear splitting scream rippled through the courtyard. Tobias felt his body stiffen. "What going on with that kid?" Tobias questions.

"No clue" Chuck replies. "Ben's in there, poor guy. They got him."

"Who's they." Tobias wondered. He didn't like the way the boy said that small word.

"Hopefully you'll never have to find out." was all he said, clearly avoiding the question. "My name's Chuck by the way. I was the greenie till you showed up." He said.

"Yeah, I guessed that. Newt told me about you; he said you're in charge of my sleeping arrangements. But you could just tell me what to do." Tobias didn't like the feeling of making a little kid do stuff for him. Chuck gave him a small smile, "Nah, its fine. It's my job anyway." Tobias was about to ask him what he meant when another horrendous scream erupted from the wooden building. "Sounds like he's dying."

"He'll be okay. He got back in time to have the serum. It just hurt a lot. Gettin' stung by Grievers I mean." Tobias felt his blood run cold at the two words 'stung' and 'Griever' put together.

"Griever?" Chuck only shrugged. Tobias heaved a sigh.

"At least I'm not the only one that hardly knows anything." Tobias contemplated. He knew that his memory loss was strange. He remembered most of the workings of the world, but he had no clue of any specifics like faces or names. All accept her of course. Just then he remembered what he wanted to ask someone. "Hey Chuck, how old do I look." The boy scanned him up and down.

"About nineteen I'm guessing. But when you scowl you look way older." That shocked Tobias, for some reason he _felt_ older. "In case you were wondering you have brown hair and you're pretty tall." He continued, "And I think you might have a tattoo on your back. Oh and another one on your neck of a bird, don't know which one though." That last part made Tobias look back at Chuck.

"What?" Tobias asked. He spun his head around as if to see it, obviously he couldn't. The younger boy chuckled. All Tobias did was roll his eyes. He got up and began to walk towards the building, that resembles a shack more than anything. It looks about three or four stories high and, hopefully it wouldn't, but as though it would collapse at any minute. Chuck ran up from behind him.

"You never told me what your name was. And we all remembered that much." He pointed out.

"Tobias." It still stumped him how all the other boys only got their names but he still got Tris. Why didn't they at least remember their last names?

Soon enough the two boys were in front of the shacks door. Tobias was about to pull it open when Chuck spoke up, "I'm basically a newbie too, so I can't give you many answers. But I can be your friend. You're not as scary as you first seemed." He said hopefully. Tobias could only laugh at the last comment. "Thanks Chuck." Was all he said in response as he pulled the moss covered door open.

He almost wished he hadn't; the rancid smells on the inside made him nauseous and sadly enough there were even planks of wood missing from the floor. Tobias began looking for Newt in order for him to ask him some questions, but he was no were to be seen.

"Hey, would you look at that. It's Mr Greenie." A boy called out, he had a feeling he heard that voice before. Looking to his left he realised that it was the same boy that made the comment about him sticking up for himself. Now that he could see him, he saw that he was tall and skinny with black hair and what looked like a small deformed potato for his nose. "I bet this shank wet his nappy when he heard Benny boy screaming." He said, "Aww, does the newbie need a new nappy." He asked with a voice you would use with a child. Tobias felt his blood begin to boil. He hadn't done anything to this guy. And he doesn't want anything to do with him.

"Have I done something to you? Anything at all… whatever your name is?" Tobias asked irritation laced in his voice.

"I don't like you. Something about you's… off." He responded. "Names Gally, but don't be fooled by those two shuck heads," He pointed his thumb in the direction of the room in which the boy Ben was in. In order to get to it they would have to go on staircase with the boards sticking out at a variety of angles. The only reason Tobias had gone into the building was to talk to Newt, now he couldn't care less. "And you can call me Captain Gally if you want." The boy smiled. Tobias wanted to be as far away from this guy as possible, and to knock out his yellow teeth.

"Alright then," He gave the boy a mock salute, "Captain Gally." He couldn't help but grin knowing he crossed the line. The smile on the boy's face vanished as quickly as it came.

"You just stay away from me, got it Slinthead?" He said glaring at Tobias.

"It would be my pleasure." By now the entire room had gone silent as the boys glared at each other. Soon enough Tobias let out a snicker and turned away towards the door. "You comin' Chuck?" He asked. The boy followed him out without a word.

"Get me away from those guys," He felt like adding; _before I do something I'll regret._

"I'm on it." The boy said happier than before, probably due to the fact that he was needed. Tobias realised that Chuck is probably his one and only friend. "I'll get us some food and meet you at the tree you were at before." And with that he took off. Tobias couldn't help but smile, he felt as though the kid reminded him of someone, the problem like with anything else, was he had no idea who.

**Well, that was a big one, please leave a review guys! Tell me what you think is going to happen!**

**Till next time! By the way, I sort of thought Chuck was like a younger version of Uriah… **


	4. Nightmares

**_Tobias POV:_**

_I step into an abandoned security check point with people on either side of me. Who _are_ they? On the other side is a woman with a badly bruised face and a bandage around her face. She wears a concerned expression._

_"What is it?" I ask. I'm not in control of what I say. She shakes her head._

_"Where's Tris?" I say forcefully. The name I mention startles me._

_"I'm sorry Tobias"_

_"Sorry about what?" The girl next to me with mocha skin and dark hair asks roughly. "Tell us what _happened_!"  
"Tris went into the weapons lab instead of Caleb." She says, "She survived the death serum, and set off the memory serum, but she… she was shot. And she didn't survive I'm so sorry." It's obvious she isn't lying._

Someone shook Tobias awake from his dream. Honestly, to him it felt more like a nightmare. He opened his eyes and in front of him was an all too close face. He opened his mouth to speak but a cold hand clamped down on his mouth. He was about to push the guy off of him, that was until he saw the boy's face. "Slim it Greenie. Don't what to wake Chuckie boy, now do we?" It was the boy he guessed was in second command; Newt. Tobias had to admit, he was surprised, but as usual, there was not an ounce of fear; although, there was an abundance of curiosity. Tobias raised an eyebrow in question. Newt put a finger to his own lips with his free hand and took his other hand away from Tobias' mouth. "Come on." The boy whispered as he stood up. He extended his hand down, offering it to Tobias. He took it while asking, "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me and stay close. Alby told me to show you somthin' before the wake up." Tobias didn't respond. He knew that he should be suspicious having no trust in anyone yet- well maybe Chuck- but curiosity was above all else crowding his thoughts. The two of them began to walk through the pack of sleeping bodies on the floor. Tobias and Chuck, along with other boys, were all camped outside to sleep. At first it seemed strange, but then he was told that they had no room inside the Homestead. Once they had left the lawn area, Newt broke into a run. Tobias was confused at first. _What's the need to run? _He thought. He then began to follow suit. There was barely any light; nevertheless they had the ability to make out something in front of them in order to avoid it.

The two stopped in front of a wall that was as high as a skyscraper. Again, the image came to his mind, but he didn't remember where he was when he had seen it. There were small red lights flashing on the walls face. It was as if they were a warning of some type. "What are those for?" Tobias asked.

"When you need to know, you'll know greenie." Newt said evenly.

Tobias snorted, "Well that makes sense," He said with as much sarcasm as possible, "Take me somewhere that makes no sense and don't answer my questions." He was surprised when Newt began to laugh. "I like you Greenie." He said, "Now shut up until I show you something." Newt began to pull across some vines to reveal a small window. At the moment it was pitch black which gave the impression that it was painted that way. A minute passed, then another. Several more. But then something changed. Light began to shine through the window like a spectrum. For once, Tobias felt panic rise in him. The suspense was killing him. He tried to figure out what was behind the wall.

"Out there is the maze," Newt whispered, "Everything we do- our whole lives, Four- revolves around the maze. Every bloody second of the bloody day revolves around this here maze." He spoke as if he were in a trance, with his eyes wide and voice quiet. "We try to solve something that so far hasn't shown us if it has a solution, ya know? And it's our responsibility to show you why it should never be messed with, why those doors close at night, why you should never find yourself out there." Newt took a step back still holding up the vines from the front of the window. He gestured with a nod for Tobias to look through the window. He did, it took a few moments for his eyes to focus on the moving object on the other side. But when he did, he stood there frozen in shock, eyes wide, mouth slack, and barely breathing. A creature the size of a cow, which had no distinctive shape seethed and twisted on the other side of the window. It crawled up the wall and leaped onto the wall in front of the boys. Tobias took a step back but didn't make a sound. Once the creature was off of the window, he stepped forward once more and looked in the window. The odd light that appeared here and there allowed him to make out the occasional silver spikes and glistening flesh. Instrument tipped appendages acted like limbs to the creature; a saw blade, a set of shears and long rods whose purpose may only be guessed.

The horrendous creature looked to be a mix of animal and machine. Even with the memory wipe, Tobias was certain he had never seen something so horrendous.

He stepped back, "What is that thing?" he asked. He felt something constrict on his gut, and he wondered if he'd ever have an appetite again.

"Grievers, we call 'em. Nasty bugger eh?" Newt replied. "Be glad them creatures only come out at night, and be thankful for these walls." A thought came to Tobias, and it made him question his sanity. He wanted to go into the maze. Despite what he had just seen, the urge of discovering the way out of this mess seemed to call out to him, make him want to be a Runner. He had been told about them by Chuck earlier in the last day when he saw the walls close for the first time.

Newt looked at the window absently; like he was somewhere else entirely. "Now you know what's lurking behind these here walls, you know this isn't joke time, my friend. You've been sent here, to the Glade, and we're expecting you to survive and help us do what we've been sent here to do."

"What's that?" Tobias asked after a few moments of silence pasted.

"Find our way out, Greenie," Newt said, "Solve the Maze and find our way home."


	5. The Tour

Hours later, when all the Gladers were awake and the doors were open, Tobias sat at an old, worn picnic table outside the homestead. He kept thinking about two things, 1- The Grievers and there purpose out there in the Maze. He also thought about what he would do if he were ever to be attacked by one of them. 2- His insane dream of being a Runner. He still doesn't understand why he gained the sudden, deadly urge, but he knew it had something to do with the feeling he was being watched twenty-four/seven. He wanted to find a way out of this nightmare. But he knew it wasn't that simple, the other boys must have been trapped here for who knows how long, and yet after all this time, they haven't found a solution. Not only that, how big was the Maze? Tobias still couldn't get his head across the situation that he now found himself in, but to imagine the existence of this place was incomprehensible. As he thought of all this, a word came to mind; why? Why were they all here? Why would such a place exist? Crazily enough, the only thing about this place that made sense, was that it made no sense.

A tap on the shoulder finally aroused him from his thoughts; he turned around to find Alby with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Ain't you lookin' fresh?" The boy said, "Get a nice view of the window this morning?" Tobias stood up, hopping the Tour would allow him to clear his thoughts.

"Yep." Tobias says, he adds sarcastically, "And wasn't it breathtakingly beautiful."

He actually got Alby to grin a little, "Tour starts now," He took a step forward but stopped, thinking twice, and held up a finger. "No questions till the end, otherwise the whole Tour you'll have something to say." He raised his eyebrows in question.

"Fine," Tobias responded, slightly annoyed, "But tell me everything." He added.

After Alby turned away he said, "I'll be telling you what you need to know." Tobias was about to interject when chuck spoke up, "Can I come?" Tobias nearly forgot the kid was there. In the morning when Chuck tried to talk to him, he would only nod, not in the mood for conversation. Alby reached down and tweaked the boys ear. "Ow!" Chuck yelled.

"Ain't you got a job, slinthhead?" Alby said, "Lots of sloppin' to do?"

Chuck rolled his eyes. The usual chirpiness was now gone as he looked at Tobias. "Have fun."

"I'll try." As Alby turned his back to start walking Tobias looked back at chuck and mouthed, "But I'll fail." The younger boy stifled a laugh. Tobias felt bad for him, he wished everyone else would treat him better. He walked behind Alby, and for some unthinkable reason, the girl, Tris, came to mind. He had a feeling that the dream he had last night was some sort of a memory. If it was, the only thing that linked him to his old life was gone.

\- **(Time skip)**

Tobias was first being shown the Box which was now closed- its doors painted white, with cracks already formed onto it. Alby pointed at the two doors, "This here's the Box. Once a month, we get a newbie like you, never fails." The boy spoke as though he had heard or done this a million times, it was obvious he wished he was somewhere else. "Once a _week, _we get supplies, clothes, some food. We don't need a lot- pretty much run ourselves in the Glade."

Tobias stayed quiet; the urge to ask a question was now over powered by the desire to understand the ways of the Glade.

"We don't know jack about the box, you get me?" Alby continued, "Where it came from, how it gets here, who's in charge. The shucks that sent us here ain't told us squat. We got all the electricity we need; we raise and grow most of our food though. Once we tried to send the Greenie back through the box. Thing wouldn't move till we got him out." The boy kept talking without looking at Tobias, "Glades cut into four sections," he held up his fingers counting off the net words, "Gardens, Homestead, Bloodhouse, Deadheads." The first two words were fine with Tobias, it was the last two that made him curious. "You got that?"

Tobias raised an eyebrow in question as if saying _you expected me to understand them from that?_

Alby's eyelids closed briefly, he looked as though he were thinking of a million things he would rather be doing. He then pointed to the northeast corner that contained all of the fruit trees and crops, "Gardens . Waters pumped through pipes in the ground- always have been or we'd have starved to death before you showed up- it never rains." That told Tobias one thing; they were in a controlled environment. Does that mean they were an experiment? Alby continued, "And it's for the crops."

He then pointed to the southeast corner where there were the animal's pens and barn was. "Blood house- were we raise and slaughter animals. Not a very chirpy place." He pointed to the pitiful living quarters, "Homestead- shuck place got twice as big as when we first came here. It ain't pretty, but it does the job. Most sleep outside anyway." At last there was the southwest corner, "That's called the Deadheads- there's the Graveyard there, in the thicker forest, not much else." Alby looked away, it was clear he was in no mood to talk further about it. The fact that they needed a Graveyard in a place full of teenagers made Tobias' insides twist with discomfort.

"You'll spend the next two weeks working one day each with our Keepers. That way we'll know what your best at." Alby stated, "Slopper, Bricknick, Bagger, Track hoe- you'll fit in somewhere eventually." The leader began to walk towards the south door which was in between the Deadheads and Bloodhouse. Tobias was hit with the stench of manure, blood and dirt as they passed both areas. For once Tobias was tempted to break Alby's rule and ask him what _Baggers, Sloppers _and… _Bricknicks _are. Curious and frustrated, he turned to watch the animal pens. Several or so cows munched away at greenish hay. Pigs lounged in the filthy mud. Tobias wondered if they were alive; although, the occasional twitch of the tail informed him otherwise. Another pen was holding sheep, he also saw coops that contained both chickens and turkeys. Then there were the workers; they bustled around as if they had lived on a farm their whole lives. He knew how the animals lived and acted, though other than that he didn't know much about them. He mustn't have been around animals much in his past life. Alby stopped, nearly making Tobias bump into him. He pointed to a large barn in the black corner, with its red paint now faded and rust forming on the edges. There's where the Slicers work. Nasty stuff that is. Nasty. You can be a slicer if you want." Alby offered. Tobias' eyes widened, "Um, I think I'll pass." Was all he said. He couldn't image working in such a gloomy place for as long as they were stuck in here. That, and he wouldn't admit this to Alby, but he had his mind set on being a Runner. As they continued walking, Tobias looked up. Finally, the sun was up, though it was strange, Tobias thought the sun was too orange in colour. But how was he to know? Maybe it had something to do with his messed up memory. The two boys finally came to a stop at the South Door; the two walls that enclosed the exit towered over them. The stones were cracked and covered in ivy. To him it looked ancient. He craned his head up to get a better look at what surrounded his new home.

"Out there's the Maze," Alby said, bringing Tobias back from his daydream, he pointed over his shoulder. Tobias stared at the two doors that revealed an exit point. To him, the corridors looked the same as the ones he saw at the East Door earlier that morning. Alby continued, "Two years I've been here, ain't none been here longer. The few before me are already dead." Tobias felt his heart quicken. _How old were they? _He thought. "Two years we've tried to solve this piece of clunk, so far we got nothing. Those shuck doors move around at night, mapin' it ain't easy." Alby shook his head, and then nodded towards the concrete entrance the Runners had entered earlier. He took a step forward, he had no idea why, but he felt this hunger that only the maze could overcome. It was as if deep inside, Tobias thought the answers to all his questions lied within its walls. Alby held up a hand before Tobias could go any further, "You ain't goin' out there shank."

"Why not?" Tobias asked even though he knew the answer.

"Do you think I told Newt to show you them Grievers for some kicks?" Alby replied, "It's our number one rule, Shank, the one you won't be forgiven for if you break. Ain't nobody – _nobody – _allowed inside the maze except for the Runners. If you break that rule and don't get killed by Grievers, we'll kill you ourselves. Get me?"

Tobias nodded, but he had a feeling he would break that rule; he knew Alby must be exaggerating. He wanted to be a Runner, he would be a Runner. All of a sudden a loud, ringing alarm that was sounding in all directions. Tobias felt his body tense, for some reason he bent down to a defence position. Realising he must have seemed like an idiot, he straightened. He looked towards Alby, surprisingly wasn't scared, he looked more… shocked and confused than anything. "What's going on?" Tobias asked, relief that his Tour guide didn't think the whole Glade was having an emergency evident in his voice. While he waited for Alby to answer, he looked around and saw that people in the blood house had all stopped what they were doing and were now glancing around. One boy shouted at Alby, "What's up with that?"

"I don't know." Alby murmured as if in a day dream.

"Where's it coming from Alby?" Tobias asked getting frustrated by the minute.

"The Box, shuck face, the Box!" Alby said before he began running towards the source of the sound. Tobias let out a low curse before he began to follow the other boy at the same pace. As the approached the Box he saw that there were dozens of kids running up and down the courtyard. Amongst the crowd was Newt, when Tobias saw him he called out, "Newt, what's this about?"

Newt glanced at Tobias and began to walk towards him, for what was going on, Newt seemed strangely calm. "A Newbie's comin' up." He said when he reached Tobias. He took a pause as if expecting some sort of reaction from him. "Right _now_." He added

Tobias thought back to what Alby had said on the Tour, "I thought they only come every month." Tobias said. As he looked at Newt, he realised that what he had mistaken for calm was actually disbelief.

"Exactly, greenie, we've never had them show up in the same month, let alone two days in a row!" And with that he took off towards the Homestead.


	6. What if?

Finally, after two long minutes, the alarm came to a stop. I crowd of Gladers had formed in the courtyard. The anticipation of what awaited unnerved Tobias. He felt a tap on his elbow, when he looked down he saw a familiar face, "How goes it Greenbean?" Chuck asked.

"Oh you know," Tobias replied, "the usual."

"I still don't get why everybody's freaking out." Chuck said.

"Well, from what I heard it was always regular, why would the… Creators change that all of a sudden." Tobias said, he had been thinking about the same thing.

"Hmm," Chuck said as if deep in thought, "Maybe they realised you were a big mistake and they brought someone up to replace you." He giggled and elbowed Tobias in the ribs. It was a high pitched sound that reminded Tobias that Chuck was just a kid, possibly the youngest here.

"Remind me why I bother talking to you again." Tobias asked joking with an eyebrow raised.

"Because were buddies, right?" Chuck said.

"Well, doesn't seem like I have much choice in the matter." Tobias replied.

"Good," Chuck crossed his arms satisfied, "Glad that's settled, Greenie. Everyone needs a buddy in this place."

"Hmm, you definitely weren't my first choice." Chuck turned to Tobias with a hand over his heart in mock hurt, "What, I thought what we had was special." He had his mouth wide with shock.

Tobias couldn't help but give a short laugh, "Chuck, never say that again." He looked back towards the Box, suddenly a thought came to mind, "Have you guys ever tried-"

"Tried it." Chuck cut in.

"Tried what?"  
"Opening the Box after to try go down it. Didn't work. There's nothing there."

"Have you-" Tobias began.

"Tried it." Chuck interrupted once again.

"Tried what?" Tobias was starting to get annoyed.

"We threw some things down. Never heard them land though."

"Okay well-"

"Tried it." Chuck said with a sly smile.

Tobias groaned with frustration, "Man your hard to talk to. Tried what?"

"Sending someone down there; they made a rope with Ivy, longest one they could make. Let's just say it didn't end well."

"What-"

"They did it while I wasn't here, but apparently the guy that volunteered to do it got three metres down until they heard a big swooshing sound. Turns out when they brought him back up he was cut in half."

Tobias chuckled a bit, but when he saw Chucks expression he asked, "Are you messing with me Chuck?"

The young boy heaved a sigh, "If you don't believe me go check him out in the cemetery. They keep him above ground to remind us about what happened."

Tobias felt his eyes widen, "Damn." He whispered to himself. "How long does it-"

"Usually about half an hour after the alarm." Chuck said.

"Honestly Chuck," Tobias said, irritation lacing his voice, "Are you a mind reader or something?"

"No," Chuck said with amusement, "Just brilliant." He winked at Tobias.

"Chuck- like I said before- never do that again." Tobias said. "Let's go over and see what's coming." He offered. And with that he took off, Chuck eventually catching up to his long strides. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he had a bad feeling about all of this. Maybe… "Chuck, how do you know it's not just supplies?" Tobias asked, hoping this was all some big mistake and there was nothing special about this.

Chuck shook his head, "Supplies already came for the week. And the alarm doesn't go off when that happens."

Tobias let out a sigh. "Hey, look." Chuck said, nodding towards someone in the crowd. It was Gally, staring dead at them. "Man he does not like you."

"Really," Tobias said sarcastically, "I had no idea." He continued walking, thinking about how the feeling was mutual.

Again, Chuck caught up with him. "Why don't you just ask him what his problem is?" Chuck offered, sounding far too macho.

"Because," Tobias replied, "He ticks me off, so the whole thing wouldn't end well. Also, he has way more allies than I do."

"Yeah but your smarter, and I bet your quicker. I bet you could take on him and his buddies, with the help of a certain someone of course." A boy a couple metres in front of them turned around, annoyance etched in his features. _One of Gally's friends, _Tobias thought. He caught hold of Chucks sleeve and began walking in another direction. Once they were a few metres away from the boy, Tobias let go of Chuck's sleeve, "Chuck, sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut." He said a little too harshly. He then saw that Alby and Newt had come out of the Homestead. That reminded him, what was going on with that poor Ben kid. He made a mental note to ask Chuck later. Once Alby and Newt pushed their way through the crowd it was dead silent. In the silence, Tobias heard the rattling of chains and he was reminded of his trip to the Glade. He felt bad for the kid that was about to come up here, no memory, and a hell of a lot of questions.

There was a muffled boom, the announcement that the lift had done its job. He watched as the two leaders grabbed hold of either side. With a loud metallic scrap the doors were open. Complete silence had fallen over the Gladers. As they both leaded in to get a closer look, Tobias couldn't help but do the same, even though he knew he had a small chance of seeing who was inside. With a sudden jerk, Newt had straightened up and had a look of utter confusion on his face, "How in the hell…"

By now Alby had done the same, "There ain't no way…"

The silence that once filled the open space had now evaporated and was replaced with a chorus of questions. The boys began to push their way forward in order to get a better view of who or what was in the box. _What do they see?_ Tobias thought.

"Hold on!" Alby yelled, silencing the anxious crowd.

"Well what's wrong?" Someone yelled back.

"Two Greenies in two days," Alby whispered as if in a trance, "but this…" He looked at Tobias. "What's goin' on Greenie?" He asked.

Tobias felt his blood boil, "How would I know?" Was all he said.

Alby sighed and rubbed the side of his face with his hand. "Tell them Newt."

Newt turned to face the crowd with a sorrowful expression, "It's a girl."

Chaos erupted in the crowd, everyone began to talk at once.

"A _girl?!"_

_"_What does she look like?"

"You sure it's not just a really feminine guy?"

"How old is she?"

"Tris?" This came from Tobias as a soft murmur. He had no intention of anyone hearing it.

"What?" Chuck asked. Tobias didn't reply. A _girl? _What were the chances of a girl showing up in the Glade? Could it be her? But he was reminded of the dream he had earlier that day, if it was some sort of memory, this girl couldn't be _the _girl. Newt hushed them once more. "Get some rope."

As a few boys went to retrieve Ivy ropes, Tobias couldn't help but wonder about the girl. The boys were back within seconds. They let them down, but nothing happened.

"Grab the rope." Newt yelled down.

"Oh," the girls said, "I thought it was to hang myself." Obvious sarcasm intended. Tobias heard some boys chuckle behind him.

Alby gave a sigh of annoyance, "Just grab the rope we'll help you up."

"And I'm supposed to trust you why?" She asked, her voice sounded familiar. Hope filled Tobias.

Newt looked at him, his eyes widened as if only then realising what had been racing around Tobias' mind.

He turned back to the girl, "Do remember a guy by any chance?" He asked her. She didn't respond.

"Shuck," Newt murmured. "Greenie, get over here!" He yelled, not bothering to hide his obvious irritation. All eyes were on him, as he walked he didn't dare look anyone in the eye. _Is it her?_ Tobias thought for the millionth time. As he reached the box he didn't look inside. Alby looked at him with anger furrowing his eye brows. "Well, is it her?" Tobias took another step forward and looked into the box. The girl inside had long, blond hair that went mid-back. She was fairly short, what he estimated was a head shorter than him. By the looks of it she might have been around 16 or 17. There were three birds tattooed onto her collar bone. She stared at him wide eyed and mouth slightly agape, what he guessed resembled his reaction. Her eyes were a bluish grey colour. Beautiful. Some could probably say she looked younger, but no child would have the ferocity that she has.

"Well," Newt said, bringing Tobias back to reality and allowing him to compose himself, "Is it him?" it was directed to the girl. She nodded her head, but still didn't grab hold of the vine. She raised an eyebrow at Tobias, questioning him if she could trust them. He gave a slight nod. With a sigh she grabbed hold of the vine. Once she was out in the open, Tobias, without much idea of what he was doing, grabbed both of her upper arms to help her up. Her eyes where squinted which meant she still hadn't adjusted to the light. As she took her first shaky step she began to topple over. But luckily enough Tobias was able to catch her, so she fell against him. When she looked up their faces were only centimetres apart, "Careful, Tris." He told her. She straightened herself up within seconds. It was only now that Tobias looked around and saw the Gladers reaction.


	7. AN: Important! I'm not giving up!

**Hi Guys! (I promise I'm still writing this story)**

**Just so you know... I AM SOOOOO SORRY ITS TAKING ME FOREVER TO UPDATE! BUT SERIOUSLY, TRYING TO BE AN 'A' STUDENT IN YEAR TEN IS NOT EASY! (Well, for me) ESPECIALLY WHEN STUPID TEACHERS KEEP GIVING YOU 'B'S WHEN YOU TRY YOUR HARDEST! hmm, well that was my rant.**

**What I really wanted to talk to you guys about is how I am having a major authors block! I need your help! Please review or PM me with any ideas you may have! any at all! I'm so out of ideas cause I have other plans for what I'm going to do, I'm just missing how the Gladers would react and how they would treat Tobias and Tris. So please help me out guys! I promise I'll try my hardest to update soon! **

**Thanks Everyone!**

Ps. I found this on the internet and I thought it was hilarious!

"Like Amity Bread, Dauntless Cake contains a serum. But it's not a peace serum; it's a sexy serum. And we all know who eats the most Dauntless Cake..."


	8. The Gathering

Most of the boys just stood there, mouths agape, staring at her and Tobias. By now she was able to fully open her eyes. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. After a couple of seconds she turned to look at the Gladers again, she spoke up, "What?" Tobias had to stop himself from smiling, it amazed him how controlled she was about this.

"Look around," Newt said, kinder than Tobias expected, "You're the only girl here." It looked like that had only occurred to her now. She took a reflective step back but stopped when she realised what she had been doing. It looked as though she was mentally scolding herself.

She cleared her throat, "Where am I?"

"The Glade." Was all Alby said. She nodded her head as if she understood completely.

"Okay… what?"

Alby gave a frustrated sigh, and looked towards Tobias for him to answer her because he was definitely not in the mood for this.

"Umm I'll tell you everything I know later." She nodded her head, not looking at him.

For a few moments there was an awkward silence over the Glade, no one knew what to do.

Alby turns to face the Gladers, "Alright, everybody back to work. All Keepers stay put." He shouts out.

A few people in the crowd begin to object but Alby raised his voice once more, "I said back to work!"

The Gladers left, a few getting one last glance at Tris, a few scowling. However it didn't seem to faze her. She stood there with her arms crossed, not in anger though, frustration more than anything. Tobias elbowed Tris, when she turned to face him he jerked his head to the side, indicating they should leave. Alby finally turned around once all off the Gladers except the Keepers had left. All eyes were on the two newest members to the Glade as they started to walk away.

"You two," Alby called out, Tobias groaned on the inside, he had a feeling this was not going to turn out well. "Where do you think you're going?"

Tobias hadn't even thought about it, he was about to say something when Tris spoke up, "Over there." Pointing to the Deadheads.

Alby shook his head. "You're joining the Gathering." Newt directly said to Tris. Something in his tone made Tobias aware that this wasn't up for discussion. He saw something change in Tris' expression, but when he turned to properly look, she was passive as always.

"I am as well then." Tobias stated. Some of the Keepers shot him a warning glance, but he didn't back down. Tris continued to not look at him.

"And why is that?" Newt asked, frustration lacing his voice. He couldn't stay here while they were all discussing their past; Tris' and his.

"Because I have some things to add." He said, "And I'd rather have her there when I tell you." It isn't far from the truth. Finally Tris looks towards him momentarily, curiosity fresh on her face.

Alby took a moment's hesitation before he said, "Fine, you would be wasting your time around here doing nothing anyway." And with that the Keepers began walking to the Homestead; followed by the latest additions to the Glade.

Tobias and Tris walked side by side in silence. Tobias couldn't help but see how awkward this situation was for both of them. After a few minutes of silence they finally reached the Homestead. As soon as they stepped through the moss covered door, the smell hit Tobias just as it did the day before. But that wasn't what made him on edge; nearly all of the boys stopped to stare at them. It might have just been his imagination, but Tobias swore he saw Tris inch a little closer to him. He heard mutters all around him, but they were shortly through the door that led to a small room with Chairs stationed in a semi-circle around a chair in the middle. As the Keepers sat in their chairs; Tris followed by stationing herself in the middle chair. Tobias settled for leaning against the wall were he got a clear view of all the Keepers faces and Tris'.

Alby clears his throat to begin, "As you may have guessed, today's events have caused a few questions." He says to Tris. "When we ask you somethin' we expect a reply, and don't bother lyin' cause it definitely won't be worth it. Get it?"

It's obvious she isn't at all pleased with how he spoke, Tobias feels the same way. But he knows Alby would talk to anyone like that. Tris doesn't.

She gives a sarcastic smile, "Ask away." She said, leaning back in her chair.

"What do you remember?" Gally speaks up, loud and clear. Tobias can't help but tense and close his hands into fists as he hears the malice in his voice.

Tris doesn't even hesitate before she says, looking Gally straight in the eye, "The only things I remember involve him," she nods her head in my direction, "So to answer your actual question; no. I don't know how or why I'm here." She takes a long look at the Keepers in turn.

But Gally doesn't back out easily, "And how can we believe you?" He says raising an eyebrow.

She lets out a sigh and leans forward onto her elbows. "How can someone prove their innocent when they have no recollections of their past?" she asks, "This might sound stupid, but I think it'll get my point across."

"There was a boy, his mother went into the kitchen and found out someone had tipped over a vase and made it clatter to the floor, shattering into dozens of pieces." Tobias can tell she's slightly enjoying something. "When the mother goes and tells the son he did it, he refuses to give in. So she asks, "If it wasn't you, then who was it?"." She grins, ""No one else lives here.""

Newt looked bemused, "Are you trying to get to something?"

She nods, "My point is, we're all going through the same thing. We've all come through…" She stops, not knowing what to call the lift that brought her here.

"The Box." Tobias says quietly.

"We've all come through the Box." She begins again, not even acknowledging Tobias, "So who's to say I'm hiding something. After all, I'm not the only one here." And with that, she knows she has won, so she leans back in her chair once more. But Gally doesn't know when to give up.

"That sounds rehearsed."

"That sounds pathetic." She spits, losing her cool demeanour. She glares at him and dares him to say something else.

Alby speaks up, "That's enough, you made your point."

"Sorry," She says and turns to face Gally, "Remember two things. One; never miss a good opportunity to shut-up." One of the Keepers snicker and Alby actually lets her continue. "Second; I could take you on anytime, anywhere." Tobias sees a glint in her eyes, and he's happy he isn't the one under his stare. But something comes to mind; he sees Tris above a girl, bloody and definitely knocked out on the floor. The girl looks about twice her size. But Tris keeps kicking her in her side, her eyes of fire. He's brought back from his daydream when he hears Gally say, "I'd like to see you try, but I'm not one to hit girls."

"Slim it Gally." A Keeper next to him mutters. Tobias sees that she wear a proud smile on her face.

"Back on course," Newt says, obviously trying to suppress a grin, "Can you tell us the things that you remember, even if they include Four." Tris snaps her head up to Newt and all the other Keepers look at him like he said something wrong. "What?" He defends himself, "He said he felt like that used to be his nickname and to be honest a didn't feel like calling him 'Tobias' all the time." He turns to face the boy leaning against the wall. "No offense."

"None taken." Is all he said.

"Say that again." Tris tells him.

"No offense?" He says dubiously.

"No," she says, urgent now, literally on the edge of her seat, "The nickname you used."

"Four?" He asks.

She doesn't respond, instead she turns and faces Tobias. By the looks of it she's puzzling something out in her mind, murmuring the name over and over and examining his face. Finally after a few moments she groans in frustration and turns back to face the Keepers. "I feel like I know what it means." She says.

Gally scoffs, "It's a number."

She doesn't even bother to look at him as she says, "I think you've already forgotten the first thing I told you to remember."

Tobias can't help but snicker.

"Back on track once more," Newt says, "Please tell us what you remember."

It takes a moment before Tris lets out a long sigh and leans onto her elbows once more, placing he head in her hands. When she looks up she says, "The first thing I remembered was jumping off a building and falling onto a net, Tobias helped me off of it." It doesn't slip his mind that it was the first time she actually used his name instead of saying 'he'.

No one questions her answer.

"Then I thought of this underground Chasm. We were sitting at the bottom, less than a metre away from the water." She takes a moment to look up at Tobias before she says, "We kissed." She turns back and says, "I had some other images cross my mind; a train, a Ferris Wheel…" She drifts off, deep in thought. But she snaps her head up and finishes with, "The last thing I thought of is none of your concern." She says it sternly. Straight away Tobias knows what she's talking about. He can't help but blush. He turns away and faces the window.

"What makes you think-" Gally starts, only to be interrupted by Newt.

"Take her advice Gally." He says, bringing a small smile to Tobias's face, "And put one and two together." The boy glares at Newt for a moment before turning away having nothing else to say.

Alby looks like he is deliberating something, he turns to face Tobias and asks, "Do you remember all of that?" Tobias nods. "Then what was it you needed to tell us?" He looks at Tris before looking back at the boy in the corner, as if he was trying to gauge her reaction.

Tobias stands there for a moment before he starts, wondering if they will actually believe him, "I had a dream yesterday. But it felt more like a memory." He pauses, seeing if the Keepers want him to continue. Alby and Newt nod their heads, motioning for him to continue. By now Tris has turned in her seat and is looking at him also. "I went into this building, there were people next to me- and before you ask; no. I don't remember them. When we got through the entrance there was this girl, she was crying. We all asked her what was wrong and finally she said," Tobias stops, finally realising this most definitely have an impact on the girl in front of him.

"She said?" Newt prods eagerly.

Tobias looks Tris straight in the eye as he says, "That you died."

**Hey everyone! How did I go? Sorry again that I took so long my friend at school (she writes and reads Fanfics too, she's 'BubblyBooks'. check her out, she has an awesome story) gave me the idea for the chapter. Please leave a review! they honestly make my day and i like to know if people are actually reading and enjoying the story. Tell me what you all think will happen. Hopefully I can come up with something else soon to update. **


	9. Memories

_"She said?" Newt prods eagerly._

_Tobias looks Tris straight in the eye as he says, "That you died." _

Tris had noticeably paled and was staring at Tobias wide eyed.

"What do you mean 'she died'?" Alby asked, unconvinced.

"The girl said that she went to some sort of weapons room and was shot." He couldn't continue to look at her, Tris' expression was shattered.

She turned to face the Keepers. "What else do you want from me?" she asked, Tobias noted a hint of anger as she spoke.

"Nothing, that's all for now." Alby said, Gally was about to interject, but he gave him a sideways, warning glance.

"Can I leave?" Tobias was curious to see how they would respond to her question.

"Yes." The leader said. As soon as the words left his mouth she was out of her seat and swiftly out the door. Tobias stared after her, then he turned to the Newt as he said, "You should go with her, make sure she doesn't go in the Maze, same goes for you."

Tobias rolled his eyes and exited the room, hearing the Keepers talk between themselves about the day's events. As he exited the door he noticed that there were far less boys in the Homestead. _What does everyone do with their time here? _Tobias asked himself. Even though he had the tour a few hours ago, his mind was still full of questions. Once he was outside the clean air was welcomed, but he soon realises that Tris is nowhere to be seen. For a split second he panics and considers telling the others. Then he remembers Gally's inquisitive gaze and decides they would both be better off if the others didn't know about this.

At first he remembers Newts order to not let her go into the Maze. _What if she already has? _The thought is soon replaced with the memory of her mentioning the Dead Heads before the Gathering. And some part of him knew that's where she would be.

"Tris!" Tobias calls out as he makes his way through the fast undergrowth. He hears rustling, but it isn't coming from in front or even behind him. The sound is directly above him. As he looks up he sees Tris sitting on a branch, her back against the trunk with one of her legs dangling from the side while the other stays stretched out in front of her. It amazed him how at peace she looked.

"Tris?" He asks, quieter this time. She doesn't look at him. Perhaps she thought he hadn't discovered her hiding spot and was simply calling out to her. He saw another branch to the left of hers with an obvious way to climb up. He sighed and began to make the climb. As he went higher and higher his chest tightened and his heart began hammering in his chest. He stopped just below the branch and looked down. He soon wished he hadn't; he was ,more than ten metres off the ground.

"It wasn't smart of you to come up here." Tris says, slight amusement in her voice, "You're afraid of heights.

At first he doesn't say anything, but then he thinks of how she said it like she was sure of herself, "What makes you think I'm afraid of heights?" He asks while making it to the branch next to hers. He grips the trunk next to him so tightly his knuckles turn white.

"I don't think," She turns to look at him, "I know."

"How?" He responds.

"I remember all of your fears; even though there's not many." She smiles slightly.

He takes a moment to deliberate his next question, "Why didn't you tell them?"

"I only remembered when that boy said your nick name. That and because I thought you wouldn't want me to," she cocks her head to the side as she looks at him, "Would you really want them to know your fears?"

He smiles, "No, probably not." Suddenly he's as curious as always. "What are my fears?" It seemed strange that he was asking someone else about his personal self.

She looks out towards the greenery as she says, "Heights, obviously." She says it with a warm smile so he knows she isn't mocking him for it.

"Small spaces." She blushes for some reason as he remembers the elevator that bought him here.

"Killing the innocent." Her expression becomes serious as she whispers, "And a monster."

It all made sense in Tobias' mind apart from the last one, "What do you mean?"

She shakes your head, "It's better if you don't remember."

"Tris." Tobias says agitated, "Tell me, I don't care if I regret it afterwards." It's true, all he wants is to feel connected to his past in any way possible.

As she turns to face him, sadness and anger are sketched into her features, "Your father." Is all she says until he questions her by raising his eyebrows?

"Look at your back in a mirror when you can, it'll make more sense." Her tone indicates the discussion is over and she has nothing left to say about it.

Tobias can't help but notice the anger in her eyes. It takes all of his self-control to not make himself force the answer out of her. He sighs and looks away. From this height he can see the sun setting over the Glade. He knows they can't stay here for much longer, so he asks her something that has been tugging at him, "Tris?"

She looks at him, and rests her head on the tree trunk behind her. "What was the last thing you remembered?" She blushes a deep scarlet and looks down, not meeting his gaze.

"You… and me…" She looks at him raising her eyebrows. As if pleading he understood so she didn't have to continue.

He grinned slightly, now it was his turn to blush, "Oh…"

"Did you remember that?" She looked curious now.

"I did, I just wanted to know if you did too."

She nods her head.

"I'm sorry for telling them about the memory of you." Tobias says, "I didn't think about how you'd feel about it."

"No," She says, "I'm glad you did. That way they know _I_ don't know what's going on here."

Tobias nods, it's exactly the way he thought when he got here.

"Plus, I already knew something happened to me. When I was in the box, I fell onto my back. When I got up I thought I had scratched it so I tried to feel it out with my hand." She stops for a moment, her eyes glazing over, "I felt at least five gunshot wounds. There's probably more, higher up my back." Tobias doesn't know what to say. So he says nothing.

There's a silence for a moment before she speaks up, "We should get going; I feel like I already have a bad rap here, might as well not make it worse." Tobias nods his head in agreement.

"Who's going down first?" He asks.

"I'll go you follow my steps; you can't go down the way you came up." She smiles warmly as he looks down and pales. He quickly nods his head.

She takes her first step onto the branch below her and he does the same. For a few moments everything works smoothly. That is, until the branch Tris steps on can't hold her weight.

She lets out a small gasp as the branch below her snaps, making her fall five metres.

"Tris!" Tobias called alarmed. She's on the floor and by what Tobias sees she is holding her mid-section and crying. He quickly gets down the tree, barley paying attention and runs to her side.

"Tris?" He asks as getting down to his knees. He pulls her hands away from her face and he sees that she wasn't crying; she was laughing.

"I bet I sound crazy, but that was kind of fun." She says.

Tobias looks down at her, and in that moment, with her hands in his, he realises how familiar this feels. He gives a light chuckle and shakes his head, "Your right; you are crazy."

All of a sudden the loud, booming noise from the doors erupts through the Glade. Tris' eyes have widened and she is silent. She looks at Tobias, worry clear on her face. He looks back at her and motions for her to get up. Once they are both standing, he realises that they don't have long before they fully close. After a moment's hesitation, he takes her by the arm and starts sprinting out of the dense vegetation. The closer they get, the louder the rumbling becomes.

"What's going on?" Tris asks. Tobias finally realises that he never told her.

They're nearly at the clearing. Still running, he says, "The doors are closing."

"What doors." She questions, obviously confused.

Tobias laughs, "Finally, there's somebody that knows less than me." He then adds, "I'll tell you when we get there."

Soon enough they were at the clearing, Tobias heard her gasp as she saw the doors close. They had gotten there a bit latter than he hoped, but he was please she saw some of it.

"The doors close every day." He tells her.

"What's on the other side?" There's wonder in her voice.

"The Maze."

**Hey Pansycakes! (I love calling people that, especially to kids are annoying me at school. I just call them that and they're like "What?" and then I'm like "Pfft, you're not worth my time." And I walk away all sassy like. Haha! JK) Please leave a review! I promise I'll update soon! I'm so excited for the next chapter! Something awesome happens! Also, I didn't know how many times Tris got shot so I just said five. I couldn't bring myself to read Allegiant again, even if it was like a page, especially ****_that_**** page…**


	10. Prison?

_"What's on the other side?" There's wonder in her voice. _

_"The Maze."_

"Tobias!" He turns around to find chuck running towards them. As he reaches them he looks over at Tris.

"Hey Chuck." Tobias says.

"You must be the girl." Chuck says with his curiosity filled voice. Tris gives a small smile.

She extends her hand, "Tris."

"Chuck," he says while shaking her hand. "I bet Tobias has told you all about me right." He nudges Tobias with his elbow, a sly grin plastered on his face.

"Umm-" Tobias is cut off.

"Of course he has." Tris says, sending a sideways glance to Tobias.

"Really?" Chuck says surprised. "I was just kidding, but, okay. What did he tell you?"

The two of them are stumped for the moment.

"He told me that… you are…" She looks at Tobias for help. "What was that word?"

He freezes, "What word?"

She narrows her eyes, "You know, _that _word?"

It takes a while for the realisation to kick in, "Oh, _that _word."

"You guys are klunk heads," Chuck says, he doesn't seem to be kidding; he states it like it's a fact. "And you guys suck at lying." He turns to face Tris directly. "You don't seem as tough as the other guys said you were."

Tris lets out a laugh, "They said I was tough?"

"Well yeah," he says, like it's the most obvious thing, "You kept taking back to Gally."

She shrugs and looks back at the Doors. "He was getting on my nerves."

"He does that." Tobias says.

Just then Tris' stomach grumbled. "You hungry?" Tobias asked, he remembers how starved he was when he came up the box.

She rolled her eyes, "No, my stomach just makes sounds when it's empty." She said, "Do you guys have any food?"

"No," Tobias said with the same amount of sarcasm, "We're waiting to die of starvation."

"Haha." She says flatly, "You are hilarious."

Chuck lets out a high pitched laugh, "You guys are funny when you argue. Come on," He says, "Let's go get us some food."

It was the first time Tobias had been in the kitchen, it was small but held everything that was needed to feed dozens of boys. It had a big oven, microwave, dishwasher and a couple of tables. It looked old and worn, but was surprisingly clean.

"You two take a seat, I'll get food." Chuck said, "But it's the last time we do this, we're luck fry pan isn't around. He goes of his kluck when we raid his kitchen." With that he left the two and fumbled around with the dishes and fridge. They both took a seat. They sat down across from each other, neither of them talking. After a few moments Tris says, "It's crazy how this can be real. Do you think someone sent us here?" Tobias turns away from the window and looks at her, he can tell she's tired. Her eyes are drooping and her expression is passive. "I do. Who knows, maybe we're some sort of experiment." He offers.

"Just accept it and try not to think about it." Chuck said, making his way to the table balancing three plates in his hands; each one containing sandwich and sliced carrots.

"Like that's going to happen." Tris mutters.

As soon as the sandwich was in front of her, she picked it up and took a bite. She covered her mouth and said a thankyou to Chuck.

"Wow, for once we'll have someone with manners in the Glade." Chuck gave Tobias a condescending look.

Tobias rolled his eyes, "Thankyou for the sandwich Chuck."

They continued to eat their food in silence. Tobias would occasionally steal a glace towards Tris, finding her chewing at a carrot with a studding expression, her head rested on her hand. For some reason she still confused him. Seeing her alone in the forest gave him an idea of what she's like, but she's constantly changing her mood. Maybe that's just how girls are in general. Suddenly she sat up straight and looked at the two boys with wide eyes, for a split second he deliberates if she somehow heard what he said. "What if we're criminals- I mean, like murderers or something?"

Chuck and Tobias looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"How did that happy thought pop up?" Chuck asked.

"Just think about it." She said sounding eager, "Our memories have been wiped, we're trapped somewhere with no way to escape…" She lets her points hang there.

"Don't forget the Grievers." Chuck added.

"Yeah- wait, what?" Tris asked confused.

"I'll tell you after." Tobias said, a clear image of the beasts lurk in his mind.

"But Chucks like twelve, maximum thirteen. You really think he would have it in him to _kill _someone?" Tobias said.

"Hey," Chuck said offended, "Who says I don't have it in me?" The both ignore him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She slumped back into her chair and finished eating the carrot she had in her hand. A rush of anger went through Tobias, it wasn't directed at Tris, or even Chuck.

"Plus, it's better than-" Chuck started.

"Living in a pile of klunk?" Tobias could hear the edge in his voice. He got up from his seat.

"Where're you going?" Tris asked. He shrugged.

"Somewhere eventually." He turned to look at Chuck, "Stay with her." He's not quite sure why he said it, but he thinks she shouldn't be alone.

"I can take care of myself you know." She said, slightly annoyed.

"I know." was all he said as he made his way out the door.

He took a deep breath as he entered the massive courtyard. The Glade had returned to normal.

People working, the box was now closed. Any signs of the days strange events were now gone. Like he hinted, he didn't know where he was going. He was just letting his feet take him where ever. He walks past the animal pens; boys have now fully started working again. One of the boys' even wave to him with a smile. An actual smile. _Maybe this place won't be so bad. _The more he stays there, the more Tobias feels at ease. It isn't as though the weight on his shoulders has lifted, but the constant reminder that he is stuck here eases. As he looks around at all the boys a grim thought comes to mind. How many boys have died here? From that, he knows where he wants to go.

-**TIME SKIP**-

He was astounded of how quickly the light disappeared as he entered the forest for the second time that day. He tried to clear his thoughts and focus on his surroundings, but it was no use, the day's event kept colliding in his mind. Why was Tris sent here, why they were all sent here. For a moment he wanted to agree with Tris' theory that this was a prison. But if that was true, how could kids like Chuck end up here; it just doesn't add up. His train of thought is broken as he hears the snap of a twig behind him. He stops mid-step and turns around. He waits for another sound. It comes; know the _snap _seems louder, almost closer. He deliberates calling out, but he has a feeling he shouldn't. So he doesn't. For a while he looks around, half expecting something, or worse, someone to jump out at him. But the longer he stands there, straight back and tensed body, the more he thinks it could have just been another one of those Beetle Blades. He continues onwards, making as little noise as he can. Soon the ground beneath him becomes more dirt than grass and as he looks up he realises where he is. The Graveyard.

**Hey Pansycakes, how did I go? I know I said something awesome would happen in the next chapter but I thought this chapter was long enough so I'm going to save it for the next chapter. Sorry :-(**

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I love waking up and seeing I have reviews. Please keep reviewing, it's good to see what people think about the story and what they think I should do. **

**On a low note, I keep getting this review saying, "Update; Ferris wheel please." And I'm getting a little bit confused cause... I can't exactly put a Ferris Wheel in the Glade. So... yeah. **

**One more thing, do you guys think I should do different POV's? Tell me what you think!**

**Anyway, hopefully I can update soon! **


	11. Regrets

**Hey Pansycakes! (Do you guys want me to call you something else? If you do, tell me and ill change it!) Sorry it took me so long to update. But I made this chapter pretty long to make up for it (2000+ words). I've noticed that barely anyone is reviewing and if no one is reading or enjoying the story I might as well stop and do something else people would like. I don't want it to seem like I'm bribing you guys or something; I'm just telling you the truth. So please review guys. Every time I get a review I always work on the story more often. I swear on the angel (TMI reference by the way) **

**Anyway, sorry for the late update. Here's the next chapter! (Sorry if there are any mistakes, I wrote this in the morning)**

**Disclaimer: I don't even own a maze, let alone ****_the _****Maze. SO it's all James Dashner's! Also I don't own Divergent… which means I don't own Tobias… It's all Veronica Roth's. **

_Soon the ground beneath him becomes more dirt than grass and as he looks up he realises where he is; the Grave yard. _

The clearing was an estimated ten metres squared. The ground was covered with so much thick Ivey and leafy weeds that Tobias could barely see the dirt under his feet. There were several awkwardly placed crosses poking out of the ground as grave markers. As he came to each tomb he saw the on the crosses were the names of the deceased and that the wood above the dirt to marked the dead corpses under him had been painted white, although the colour had weakened through the years. As he kneed down to get a better look at the name. It was only now that he realised there was a certain eeriness in the forest that wasn't there earlier in the day. It wasn't for the fact that there was barely any light; it was because of the quietness that had come over it. No birds were chirping and the usual _clicking _of insects had ceased. He can't help but relate it back to the noise he heard before he reached the cemetery.

Focusing back to the cross, he saw the dead boys name was Braden. I sudden wave of sorrow washed through Tobias; _what's your story? _Tobias thought. _Did one of the Grievers get you? Were you a runner? _As he stood up he looked around and saw the dozens of other graves. _How did all these boys die? Maybe some of them committed suicide. That would explain the numbers. _He shivered at the morbid thoughts. Knowing it was best to start heading back, he turned around but before he took two steps he noticed that the earth under him had changed. Instead of the slight denseness dirt would have; the ground was now solid. When he looked down past the vast weeds, he saw he was actually standing on glass. Once again he bent down to his knees but this time he began pulling the weeds away from the glass in order for him to see what was inside. And what he saw made his insides turn, made him want to get out of this god forsaken place. It was the boy Chuck spoke of before Tris arrived. Underneath him was half of a corps, already rotting. He froze unable to move, so all he did was read the words etched into the top of the glass;

_Let this half-shank be a warning to all:_

_You can't escape through the Box Hole._

Unable to face the harsh truth of it, he stood up and stepped back from the glass. For some unapparent reason, he felt a bubble of nervous laughter rise within him. But in the same amount of time it came, it was gone; Tobias heard the sound of footsteps. Instinctively, he looked down trying to find a weapon of sorts to defend him-self. All he could manage was a fist sized rock. He gripped it in his hand as he turned around, now he was sure there was someone out there. Every fibre in his being tensed as the footsteps took up pace, meaning the person was now running straight for him. Tris' voice rang clear in his mind, _be brave_. Eyeing the dense forest he finally saw a glimpse of a skinny boy, half limping as he ran. "What the hell?" Tobias whispered.

The boy broke out of the forest, but all Tobias could see was a flash of pale skin and enormous eyes. Not even having the chance to make a break for it, the sick boy made a leap for him and tackled Tobias to the ground. The rock was knocked out of his hand because his grip on it faltered as he saw the obviously mental boy. As his shoulders were pushed and pinned down by the boy, he felt the grave marker under his back snap in two, causing what he was sure a massive gash of his back. He stifled a scream and attempted to knock his opponent of by trying to hit him wherever possible. But the boy was fast and each punch missed its mark. Tobias heard the _clack, clack, clack _of the boys teeth before he felt a searing pain on his shoulder. Now he could do nothing but cry out in pain. With a fresh burst of adrenalin, he pushed the boy of him and was gratified when he heard another sharp crack meaning another grave marker had snapped. He pushed himself up and finally got the chance to get a better look at his attacker. He looked like a nightmare with his face sunken and his teeth bared, but Tobias knew better. This was a Glader, a boy who had completely lost his mind. And then he realised it; this must be the sick boy whose cries rang out in the Glade.

This must be Ben.

The deranged boy wore nothing but shorts, his pale white skin stretched around his bones. But the worst thing was the rope like veins running around his body, green and pulsing. His bloodshot eyes fell onto Tobias, as if seeing his next kill. Ben crouched down ready for the next attack, a knife somehow how made its way to his right hand. Tobias seeing he didn't have the time to look around for something to defend himself with, only stood there with his muscles tensed and his mind completely aware.

_"Ben!" _Tobias turned towards the source of the shout, it was Alby. He held a large bow in his hands and was pointing the arrow directly at Ben.

"Ben," Alby spoke calmly, "Stop right now or I can't do anything but stick this through your brain."

Tobias turned back to Ben, the boy was staring at Alby with a form of hate. His tongue darting in and out just past his lips; constantly wetting them. _What exactly do Grievers do to people? _Tobias was wrong; the boy _had_ become a nightmare. How?

"If you kill me," As Ben spoke spit flew from his mouth, far enough to reach Tobias' face. "You'll get the wrong guy." His gaze snapped back to Tobias. "I saw him- he's bad… he-he's bad." Bens face was contorting with the same madness that rang in his voice. "He's the one you want to kill!" the boy screeched. _What did he see me doing? _

"Don't be stupid Ben," Alby said with the same amount of calmness in his voice, his arrow still pointed at the boy. "Tobias just got here, your still buggin' from the Changing."

"He's not one of us! We need to kill him! Let me _gut _him." He said the second last word as if it were a mere past time. Tobias new he couldn't handle this alone, he was man enough to admit that. So he continued to watch the scene before him: not moving, not speaking. But he still wandered what Ben meant when he said he saw him.

"You leave that to me and the Keepers to figure out." Alby spoke, Tobias heard the sound of footsteps not far from them but didn't even spare it a glance, "You just drop the knife and make your way back to the Homestead."

"He'll wanna take us home, I saw it! That's what he came here for! We might as well tear each other's guts out now while we have the chance!" Ben looked at Tobias once more, his knife shifting from one hand to another and his head cocked to the side.

"Ben, I'm going to count to three." Alby said, meaning each word.

"He's bad, him and that girl. Their bad, their bad, bad, bad." His eyes remained glued to Tobias as he chanted the words in a whisper.

"One."

"Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad…" Ben gave Tobias a cold hearted smile, his teeth shining a pale green.

"Two."

The boy gave a possessed cry and leaped at Tobias. He never made it; his head snapped to the side and he fell to the ground. Tobias turned to look at Alby and was shocked to see his weapon lowered but still with an unused arrow. He was looking at something behind him with a surprised face. Tobias turned around and saw a small blond girl with her wide eyes staring at Ben. It was Tris. It was her Tobias heard before. He turned back to Ben and noticed the knife lodged into his skull. She was roughly four metres away and still hit her moving target perfectly. For a moment the three of them just stood there. Tris was the first to speak up. "Three." She whispered in a hushed voice, so quiet that Tobias barely caught it. Seeing Ben on the ground unmoving and blood seeping from the wound, he made his way towards her. He stopped just in front of her. She didn't move, or even look up. He turned towards Alby, he was eyeing Tris with a new found respect. "Come on, the Baggers'll take care of him tomorrow." Alby said, there was a hint of sorrow in his voice now. He turned away, making his way back. Tobias looked back towards Tris. She remained unmoving, barely blinking. He gently tugged on her arm and called her name. She looked up at him and turned around. They began to make their way out of the forest and way from the dead boy on the ground.

The two walked in silence; both feeling equally as guilty for Ben's death. Just as they entered the clearing and stepped out into the sun, Tobias saw Tris drop to the floor beside him, just on the outskirts of the forest. He bent down next to her and kept her hair out of her face with one hand and the other on her back as she rid her stomach of its contents. She spat and coughed out every last bit of the bile from her stomach. After about three minutes, her whole body was shaking and it seemed like the vomiting would never cease. Tobias felt useless but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it. All he could do was stay there and try his best at comforting her. I was then that he realised they had only been for a day and a little, Tris even less. But yet all these things had happened. Would it ever get better?

That night Chuck, Tobias and Tris all remained quiet. Well, Chuck had fallen asleep after the two of them ignored and refused to speak with him about what happened. Tobias knew they were in the early hours of the morning, but he just couldn't will himself to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes the image of Ben's lifeless body would appear. He wondered what Tris was feeling. After all, she was the one that threw the knife. For the rest of the day she would speak to no one, not even Tobias. Even when Tobias and Chuck explained to Tris how the sleeping arrangements were, all she did was nod her head in thanks, fix her bed and lie down looking up at the sky. The thing that scared him the most was her eyes. They were blank and devoid of emotion, the usual glint he has seen and remembered for the past hours is gone. He turned his head towards her and saw how she was still wide awake, staring at the sky. He was about to ask her something but she beat him to it, "I want my memory back." She said.

He grinned, "Don't we all?"

"I just don't understand; why is it that I know I've killed lots of people before, always felt remorse for it. But now after killing a boy that was out of his mind and attempted to kill you…" She sighs. "I just don't get why I feel like this."

Tobias was quiet for a moment, preparing his answer. "Well, do you remember how you felt after every time?" He didn't have to elaborate. They both spoke in hushed voices, afraid to wake anyone.

She shook her head. "Maybe you always felt like this." He offers.

"What about you?" She asks, turning her head to face him. "Why are you acting as though it's not that big a deal?" He doesn't speak at first, mainly because he asked himself this before but didn't find an answer. "I think we've faced lots of deaths too, lost people we care about. Maybe over time I just got used to it and moved on." They both turn up towards the sky again, and it's a while before Tris speaks up, and what she says startles Tobias. "I'm sorry."

"You did what you had to do today." Why would she say sorry for saving him?

"No," From the corner of his eye he saw her shake her head, "I'm sorry for 'dying'."

He said nothing, not really knowing what to say. "I can't remember why I did it. Or even what happened, but I know that if our roles were reversed… it would have changed me."

Even though he may not remember how he acted after her death, he knew this, "I forgave you a long time ago Tris." He said, meaning it.

She let out a long breath and turned on to her side, facing him. "Night Tobias."

When he turned to face her, her eyes were already shut. He copied her movements and turned to face her. "Night Tris."

He closed his eyes and willed the dark images away, and somehow, he found sleep.

**So, how did I go? Okay, I'll strike a deal with you. I've seen other people do this and they end up getting more reviews so I might as well try it for the next few chapters… if I get 6 reviews I'll update after I get my sixth. I'm sorry but it's not only because I want reviews but because it's the reviews that get me off writing my book and onto my fanfics. If you guys have any questions just review or PM and if it's a review I'll write something at the top of the next chapter (So put your name/username if you want to)**

**Ps. Ben is actually dead so they won't have that whole 'ceremony' where they put him in the Maze… I have something better planned *mistchivious grin***

**OH! And shout out to 10capitalfactions! Cause without her you guys would not have this chapter today! **

**Info on my other Fanfics:**

**Killer Divergents: I'm sorry I haven't updated on it but I've already written a page in like 30 minutes (it wasn't really crappy or anything I just wrote it really focused and all.) so that will be up shortly I promise. **

**Convergent: Sorry to all of you who wanted more of that story. Two people have already adopted it:**

\- **ILoveTheWay2 **

\- **MyHavenIsBooks**

**They are both very talented and I'm happy I gave the story over to them. Check out their sites!**

**Till next time,**

**DauntlessRunner46 **


	12. Training

_He closed his eyes and willed the dark images away, and somehow, he found sleep. _

The next morning Tobias woke and found Tris sitting beside him on her make-shift bed, staring out towards the Maze. By the looks of it she must have been awake for quite some time. Her jaw was set and her body tensed like a spring. He sighed once he realised Newt must have shown her the Grievers like he had showed Tobias the day before. For the whole morning he and Chuck dragged Tris off the spot where she sat, to the showers and dressing rooms -waiting outside obviously- and finally to the canteen. The whole time Tobias felt different, the image of Ben falling to the ground replayed in his mind every time he blinked, and when the Glade was quieter than usual, the thump of the knife connecting with the boys' skull rang clear in his ears. He couldn't lie; he felt like he needed more sleep, he had no doubt he wasn't the only one, but he had gotten the feeling late mornings must have been frowned upon in the Glade. Breakfast went by in a blur, the whole time Chuck attempted to make conversation; eventually the boy gave up and ate his breakfast in silence. Tobias ate slower than usual, Tris barely ate. She simply picked at her food and stared at her bowl; as if it would give her answers to all of her questions. And Tobias knew she had plenty of them.

He was too busy watching her from the corner of his eye to notice Newt sit across from them. The blond boy snapped his fingers in front of Tobias' face, when he looked up Newt raised an eyebrow at him and tilted his head towards Tris. Tobias glared at him, but all the boy did was give him a sly smile. Luckily she didn't see the exchange between the two; she was still looking at her bowl. Tobias believed that she hadn't even noticed the boy's arrival. It was only when he looked back towards Newt that he saw the purple bruise forming on the boy's cheek.

"Who did that to you?" Tobias asked, beyond surprised that someone had done that to a Keeper.

"I did." Tris says, looking up from her bowl and grinning at Newt. Tobias felt something boil inside him, he pushed it down when he realised what it was; jealousy, but why? Obviously it wants because she hit him…

He clears his throat, "Let me rephrase that: _Why _did _that_ happen?" He pointed to the bruise.

"Little Miss Sunshine here doesn't like to be woken up early in the morning." He says, taking a bite of his toast.

"No," Tris amends, "I don't like having my mouth covered by a strangers hand in the dark."

Chuck giggles as Newt glares at her, "Anyway, that's not why I came here. We're giving you guys your Greenie party tonight." He says faking excitement in a friendly manner. Chuck gives a whoop but the other two look at Newt confused.

"A what?" Tobias asks, sounding bored.

"A party for you guys; being the new _Greenies _after all." Chuck says ecstatic.

"It was supposed to be two days ago but you showed up late." Newt says pointing to Tobias. He then points to Tris, "Then you showed up."

"Can't wait." Tris says sarcastically.

Chuck then rambles off all the things that occur at the event. "And sometimes we even fight each other, you know, to see which one of us is the best." Newt rolls his eyes, but Tris sits up straighter in her seat.

"So," She says indifferently, "Does Gabby participate in it?"

Newt and Chuck laugh but Tobias is wary, "He sure does, and he likes to say he's one of the best. He's names _Gally _by the way." Newt says

"I know." She says, she looks back at her bowl and smiles to herself.

"Why did you ask?" Tobias says, keeping his eyes on her.

"Just curious." She said looking back at him. They stayed silent for a moment until she gave a sigh, knowing he was smarter than that, "Even if I was up to something, I can take care of myself."

"I know." Is all he says, dropping the subject.

Half an hour later, Tobias was standing outside the barn of the Blood House with Newt. He was excited about the training sessions; hopefully it would help get his mind off the previous day's events. Usually Newt was the only one to show the new Gladers around, but now that there were two; Alby had to pitch in and show Tris to her training sessions. Some part of Tobias was happy they were being separated; he didn't want the Gladers to think the two were up to something. Perhaps it's better if they spent time with others around them, seeing how the Glade functions.

"Four, are you even listening to me?"

Tobias snapped out of his daydream and focused on what was at hand.

"Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night." He says.

"Can't blame you there." Newt said attempting give an encouraging smile, "Went through the shuckin' wringer yesterday. You probably think I'm the biggest Slinthead for getting you to work your butt off."

Tobias shakes his head, "Can't wait to start, I think I'll help clear my head." He says honestly.

Newt smiled, but this time it was genuine, "I knew you were as smart as you look. What you just said, it's the main reason we run this place all busy like; You get lazy, you get sad. Start givin' up. Plain and simple." Tobias nodded his agreement and looked out towards the animals for a moment. Sheep bleated, cows mooed, pigs squealed all around him. _Yep, _Tobias thought, _This might just get Ben's death off my mind. _Even though Tobias felt little regret for the boys' death, it still rang clear in his mind.

"So," Newt said, "What's the latest with your girl?"

Tobias froze, "What?"

Newt rolled his eyes, "Come on, Four. You really think it isn't obvious?"

"What's obvious?" he asked, more confused than before.

Newt looked up, hearing the sincerity in his voice. "Well shuck," Newt said laughing, "This will be more entertaining than I thought." Tobias was about to speak up again but Newt cut him off, "Let's get goin' shall we? What's first; scoopin' up some klunk or killin' some poor little piggies?"

The boy shrugged, "Who knows, maybe I liked killing things before I came here." He joked.

Newt laughed, "You know, if anyone said that I'd think it slightly amusing, when you say it its flat out hilarious cause it's a possibility." Tobias rolled his eyes. "I'm just messin' with ya. Either way you'll find out by the end of the day." He nodded his head towards the barn. "Let's go meet Winston- he's the Keeper."

Winston was one acne covered kid. The boy was short but muscular, and it seemed as though he enjoyed his job far too much. It was then that Tobias thought about Tris' theory; _maybe he was sent here for being a serial killer_.

For the first hour or so Winston showed him where everything was; from chicken coops to slaughter pens. There was also a black Labrador that had taken a liking to Tobias quite quickly; following him around the whole day. The Keeper told him his name was Bark, though Tobias soon realised it was a joke more than anything; the dog was pretty quiet.

In the second hour Tobias spent his time actually working with the farm animals- feeding, cleaning, fixing fences- and as Newt suggested- scooping up klunk. He smiled to himself; Tobias found himself using the Glader slang more often.

The third hour was truly off putting though. He watched as Winston slaughtered a hog and prepared its flesh for future eating. As Tobias breathed in the vile stench he realised that he definitely wasn't brought up around a farm. Luckily, Winston told him to go on his lunch break without him after that.

He knew that he would have to decide what he would do in the Glade soon enough, and he also knew it would not be working in the blood house. Even though it did not seem like it, being a Runner was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't explain it. It was as if he was being pulled towards it. Like the Maze itself was egging him to find their escape.

Tobias made his way from the Barn and past the Box, watching all the other boys in the Glade as he did so. When he passed the West Door to his left he saw someone run out of the Maze. The boy had short jet-black hair and strong arms; he looked about the same age as Tobias. Three steps in the Runner stopped and bent over, hands resting on his knees, gasping for breath. His face was red, skin covered in sweat, shirt soaked; he looked like he just ran 20 miles. Tobias became curious, he hadn't seen a Runner yet, hadn't even spoken to one. But he knew that the boy was back hours earlier than usual. He stepped forward making his way to ask him what has him so overworked, but before he had formed a sentence, the boy collapsed to the ground.

Tobias didn't hesitate, "Someone get Alby!" He shouted to nearby boys that were walking towards the Homestead, then he ran to the boy and kneed down beside him. "You alright?" he asked. The Runners head rested on his outstretched arm as he panted, his chest heaving.

"I'm… fine." He said in-between breaths, then he looked up, "Who the shuck are you?"

"I'm the new guy, Tobias." It was then that it hit him, the runners were out in the Maze when he came up in the Box. But surely someone must have told him about him and Tris?

The runner pushed himself up to a sitting position; his hair was now matted to one side with sweat.

"Oh yeah." He said, "Newbie, you and that chick."

Tobias was about to tell him that '_chick' _had a name, but someone beat him to it, "It's _Tris_ actually." The two boys turned towards the voice, only to find Alby running towards them and Tris walking behind. When she sees Tobias her face softens. She turns back to the boy and adds, "Only Tris."

The Runner raises his eyebrows in surprise at her tone, that and seeing _her_. "What are you doing back Minho?" It was obvious that Alby was upset, "What happened?"

"Calm your wad Alby." Minho replied, gaining strength by the second, "Make yourself useful and get me some water. I dropped my pack out there."

Alby kicked him in the leg, a bit too hard to be playful. "What _happened_?"

"I can barely talk shuck-face!" Minho exclaimed, his voice raw, "Get me some water."

Tobias turned to see the leaders reaction, he was startled to see a ghost of a smile on his face before it was replaced with a scowl once more. Alby turned to face the two Newbies.

"He's the only one that can talk to me like that without gettin' his butt getting kicked off the cliff." And with that he took off, apparently to get Minho his water.

"He lets_ you_ boss him around like that?" Tris asks, sounding surprised.

Minho shrugs then wipes the sweat from his forehead, "You scared of that pip-squeak? Pfft, you got a lot to learn. Freakin' Newbies."

Tobias saw Tris open her mouth to remark but he beat her to it, "It's just that he's the leader isn't he?"

"Leader?" Minho let out a croaky laugh, "Yeah, we should start calling him El Presidente. Wait, wait- Admiral Alby. Yep, there you go." He wiped his eyes sniggering as he did so.

"Then who is the Leader?" Tris asked.

The runner let out a frustrated groan, "Look, greenie, please. Try not to confuse yourself more then you need to." He rolled his eyes, "Why do you shanks always come her asking such stupid questions? It gets annoying after a while."

"Well what do you expect us to do?" Tobias felt a wave of frustration rush through him. _It's not like you would have been any different, _he wanted to say.

"Do what you're told and keep your mouth shut. That's what I expect." Minho looked at him square in the eye. Tobias didn't turn away; instead he held the stare.

Tris sniggered, "It's not like you would have been any different when you were a… Greenie." She said, trying out the slag for herself, still becoming accustomed to it.

Now the boy looked straight at her, "I was one of the first Gladers Slinthead. Keep your mouth shut until you know what you're talking about."

Tobias saw Tris' expression darken in seconds. Obviously fed up with the guy's attitude she turned and began to leave.

Minho sighed and called out, "I'm just messing with you. It's just too much fun, you'll see when the next Newbie comes up. Sit down."

She turned around but stayed where she was, still wary as ever.

Tobias patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit down as well. She simply shrugged and came to join them. As she sat down Tobias noticed the boy next to them narrow his eyes at the two of them.

"Every bodies saying you guys new each other or something. Do you?"

Tris was the first to respond, "We only remember things that include one another."

He nodded, "So were you two shanks a couple or something?"

Tobias didn't know what to make of this guy, his personality seemed to change every minute, as though it were a game he played.

Tris cleared her throat awkwardly and decided to change the subject, "Did you find anything out there today?"

Minho smirked then muttered, "I knew it." Tobias shoots him a glare, but he doesn't pick it up. Instead, he answers her question. "You know, that's one of the stupidest questions you could ask a runner… but not today."

The girl straightens up, eager to hear more. "What do you mean?" Tobias questions, hesitantly.

"Wait till your fancy admiral gets back, I don't like repeating myself." He closes his eyes and leans back on his arms, lifting his face towards the sky and closing his eyes, "Plus, maybe he doesn't want you to hear it."

The other boy held back a snicker; _of course you wouldn't answer the question._

"Fine, but at least tell us why you look so beat. Aren't you supposed to be like supper fit sense you run out there every day?" Tris teases, smiling to herself.

The Runner glowers at her direction, "Let's just say I got excited and ran extra fast to get back here." He then groaned as he sat himself up and crossed his legs underneath him. A moment later they heard someone moving towards them and saw it was Alby. The boy carried a surprisingly full, plastic cup of water considering he had run back. He handed it to Minho who gulped it down, not even pausing to take a breath.

"Okay, what happened?" Alby questioned, his arms were folded and he looked down at Minho with an eyebrow raised.

The Runner nodded towards the other two in question. Alby waved at them dismissively, "I don't care what they hear. Talk!" Tobias and Tris sat in anticipation as Minho leaned back on his arms, his legs still crossed. He gave Alby a cold look, "I found a dead one."

"A dead what?" Tris asked.

Minho smiled, "A dead griever."

They were all quiet, The newest members fascinated by the mention of grievers, but also confused as to how this was so major. Had it never happened before?

Alby was shocked to say the least, his face had gone slack. "This ain't the time to be crackin' jokes."

_Yep, _Tobias thought, _this never happened before._

"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it myself. But trust me, it was dead. It was a big nasty one." Minho said, "Couple miles out of here, near the cliff."

Alby took a quick glance towards the Maze, as if expecting the creature to come out and show Minho he had lost it. "Well…" Alby said, "Why didn't you bring it back?"

Minho laughed, making a show of it to prove to Alby how stupid he sounds. "You must be on some of Fry pans saucy sauce. You really think I'd bring that piece of Klunk out here. Nah. I wouldn't touch the thing even if it gave me a free ticket outta this place. That and those things must weigh a ton."

Alby continued to bombard him with questions, "Were the spikes still there? What did it look like? Was its skin moist- did it move at all, even a little?"

Tobias felt as though he would explode, _Moist skin? Spikes? _But he kept all of the questions in; afraid Alby would change his mind and think better of having the two of them there.

"Slim it with the questions dude." Minho said, giving up. "You gotta see it for yourself. It's weird…"

"Weird?"

"Dude, I'm tired, sun-sick, and not to mention starved. But if you wanna we could get there before the doors close." He offered.

Alby looked at his watch, "We'll save it for tomorrow."

"Smartest thing you've said all week." Minho got up, every movement screamed exhaustion. He slapped Alby on the shoulder and made his way towards the homestead, limping slightly in the process.

"You all enjoy the rest of your day. I'm going to go eat some of Fry Pans nasty casserole." He called out.

They watched him leave for a moment but then Alby turned on the both of them, "If you know somthin' and ain't tellin' me…" Tobias felt like hitting him. He was sick of being accused of knowing things when he had no idea.

Tris' face flushed red in anger and she simply asked, "Why do you hate us so much?"

An expression of part confusion, part shock and anger came over Alby's face. "_Hate? _This ain't got nothin' to do with hate, or like, or love or friends. Girl, you ain't learnt nothin' since you showed up here. Drop your sissy side and start using that shuck brain of yours if you've even got one."

Tris looked as though she had been slapped. Tobias was about to speak up but Alby didn't spare him the chance, "It can't be a coincidence. You pop up in here and everything goes all wack. First a girl Newbie, some shank with tattoos all over himself," He motions towards Tobias, "Ben tryn' to bite you, dead Grievers. And next we get some note-"

"What note?" Tobias asked, annoyance shining through. The boy took out a piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it down. "That came in the box today when supplies came up." Tris unfurled it and read out loud, "She's the last one. Ever." She paled, and the note remained in her hand as she sat there frozen.

"If you know anything-" Tobias cut him off, putting some heat into his words.

"We don't know anything Alby." The two boys stared at one another, "We don't even know where we _were_ three days ago. Much less what kind of Klunk we'd be in for the next couple of days. So stop accusing us and back off." He said it so quietly but with the same amount of anger and frustration. Alby leaned back a little. For a few seconds he stared absently at Tobias, then he spoke again, "Slim it, Greenie. Grow up and start thinkin'. I ain't accusin' nobody of nothin'. But if you remember anything, if somthin' even _seems _familiar, you better start talking. Promise me." _Not unless I want to share. _Tobias thought. "Whatever." He said.

"Just promise!" Tobias paused, sick of the boy and his attitude.

Tris spoke up on behalf of both of them, "We promise."

With that Alby turned and left, without another word.

They sat there and watched him leave, the anger that was welling up inside of Tobias was now gone; all he wanted was half an hours sleep. He didn't want to go back to the blood house just yet. He looked over at the girl next to him, annoyed that Alby had spoken to her like that, "You okay?" he asked quietly.

All she did was nod, "I have something to tell you." She whispered, as if she was afraid someone might hear.

He nodded, wanting her to continue. She looked around and saw that there was no one within hearing range. _Why didn't she just do that in the first place? _Tobias thought.

"Do you remember yesterday when I fell out of the tree?" She doesn't wait for him to respond, knowing he would, "Well I had a weird… _dream _last night. You and I were climbing a Ferris wheel and I fell off-"

"What?!" Tobias questioned, not believing her.

She rolled her eyes, "Let me finish. We were climbing back down and the rung I was standing on broke off. I was hanging there for a bit but you turned it on and it took be close enough to the ground so I could let go."

At first he didn't know what to say, "That's why it felt familiar then… But why the hell did we climb a Ferris wheel?"

"Beats me," she responded, looking out towards the Maze doors. Suddenly she laughs, "Maybe we were some kind of adrenalin junkies." She looked at him, "What do _you _think?"

"Hmm," He thought about it for a moment, "No. Maybe you were an adrenalin junkie. But I have a feeling I wasn't." He turned and faced her, smiling slightly.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Oh really? Then why would you come up with me?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe it's cause you were there." He offered.

She grinned and looked away, she seemed embarrassed. Tris coughed and changed the subject, "Do you remember anything else?"

He sighed and nodded, "Kind of, I did what you said; well I couldn't find a mirror that I could look in and see my back entirely but I saw that there was a massive tattoo there. But I couldn't really make anything out. And I saw the one on my rib cage." He looked down and remembered the flames ripping across his skin.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few seconds, Tris was about to speak up but heard running footsteps behind her and stopped. They both turned in unison, only to find the young boy, Chuck, running towards the two of them. He was pumping his arms, his face blotchy and red. As soon as he reached them he smiled then bent over, placing his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"You okay Chuck?" Tris asked concerned. He put his hand up asking for a moment.

Finally he spoke, "So… how ya… goin'?" He said in between breaths.

Tobias smiled at the boy, "Not bad Chuck, you mind telling us why you ran all the way here?"

The boy sat down in front of them, falling back. "Just wanted to keep my fitness intact." he said sarcastically. He pumped his fist in the air as if to show how 'good' he was feeling.

Tris laughed quietly and Tobias smiled. "Seriously though, why so excited." he asked.

"I'm on my break. I saw you guys here and I wanted to hang out a bit."

Tobias groaned as if in agony, Tris looked concerned and sat up straighter, "What is it?" she asked worried.

"I have to go back to the Blood House." He responded, starting to stand up.

She rolled her eyes, "Poor baby." she said jokingly. "I have to get back to the kitchens soon."

Chuck snorted, "Lunch lady…" he muttered to himself.

The girl narrowed her eyes, faking a deadly expression, "Careful, maybe some cow Klunk could find its way onto your plate today at dinner…"

Chuck paled but tried to hide his concern, only to fail when Tris pretended she was serious. It didn't escape Tobias that she had been using the Gladers slang more often, he supposed it was a good thing.

With a small smile he said, "I'll see you guys later." And with that he left, but felt as though Tris was still watching him as he walked away, even though Chuck was rambling off again as usual.

Hey Pansycakes,

**Sorry if I made any mistakes in this chapter and sorry again for taking so long to update. I've had the flu for the past week and I kind of wrote this when I was tired. Shout outs to Maddy (Guest- one of my best friends), 10capitalfactions and Krisicake. They helped me out for this chapter; Krisicake gave me the idea of having a Greenie party and 10capitalfactions and Maddy got me back on track with writing my story/s. Thankyou to everyone that has reviewed and/or followed, its awesome to know people are reading and liking my story. Because its available, I'll give you a sneak peak of the next chapter. If it's bad tell me and I'll just change it for the next update. Which I promise will be next week cause I'm on holidays.**

_And with that he left, but felt as though Tris was still watching him as he walked away, even though Chuck was rambling off again as usual._

\- (Time skip)_ -_

When Newt had told them earlier that day that they would be having a party, Tobias thought it wouldn't be a big thing. Oh how he was wrong. All of the Gladers were packed in the main courtyard. Some drinking 'Frypan's saucy sauce', laughing and even dancing to the makeshift band. Others were seated around by a large fire talking amongst them. Many boys were carrying sticks with them. At first Tobias was simply confused but then he watched as they began placing one end of the stick into the fire until it would be glow a luminous red, but not flaming, and then throw them at each other. Tobias felt oddly at ease with the chaos. Somewhere deep inside of him he felt as though this is what his home would have been like. No quiet days or nights in but instead ones that were filled with laughter and entertainment. A large portion of the boys were grouped in a large circle. He went to take a look at what was happening and saw that it was what Chuck had been talking about; two Gladers were in the middle of the circle fighting each other. Tobias watched as one of the boys with brown, short cropped hair took a swing at the other. _Wrong, _Tobias thought, _you don't have the right stance; you're going to lose balance. _He didn't know where the idea came from, but he trusted his observation. Soon, as he expected, the other Glader punched the boy with brown hair in the rib cage, he lost his balance and toppled over. After few more punches the boys around him cheered as the winner was announced. But Tobias didn't clap along with them. He felt as though fighting should be learnt, of course, but not used for entertainment.

He heard a distinct laugh to his left; he turned towards the sound and suddenly found himself lost in the image of the striking girl in front of him. She was few metres away from him, standing in front of the vast but contained flames, casting beautiful and hypnotising colours across her skin and blond hair that was now cascading down her shoulders and back. She wore a grey, tight fitting tank top and black shorts that went mid-thigh but still showed off her body in what Tobias thought she would feel comfortable with. Tobias could see the three tattoos she had; three birds flying across her collar bone, flames contained in a ring on her shoulder- the same Tobias had on his rib cage-, and hands clasped together on the other. She laughed again as Chuck threw a stick at her, though it missed and landed on the grass. She was quick to pick it up, still glowing on the end, and threw it back at him. As it spun towards the boy it cast red wheels in the air. It was then that Tobias realised the purpose behind the game; of course they were meant to hit each other, but the main objective was to achieve the light show of red. He was filled with energy he could barely describe, every vessel and muscle and organ in his body sung at the same pitch as he watched her. Then he realised what it is. It's her. Something about her makes him feel as though he is about to fall. Or turn into liquid. Or burst into flames. He continued watching her with the other Gladers, content with seeing her happy, belonging.


	13. Greenie Party

_And with that he left, but felt as though Tris was still watching him as he walked away, even though Chuck was rambling off again as usual._

\- (Time skip)_ -_

When Newt told them earlier that day that they would be having a party, Tobias thought it wouldn't be a big thing. Oh how he was wrong. All of the Gladers were packed in the main courtyard. Some drinking 'Frypan's saucy sauce'; laughing and even dancing to the makeshift band. Others sat around a large fire talking loudly amongst them. Many boys were carrying sticks with them. At first Tobias was simply confused but then he watched as they begin placing one end of the stick into the fire until it would glow a luminous red, but not flaming, and then threw them at each other. Tobias was oddly at ease in the chaos. Somewhere deep inside of him he felt as though this was what his home would have been like. No quiet days or nights in but instead ones that were filled with laughter and entertainment. A large portion of the boys were grouped in a large circle. He went to take a look at what was happening and saw that it is what Chuck had been talking about; two Gladers stood in the middle of the circle fighting each other. Tobias watched as one of the boys with brown, short cropped hair takes a swing at the other. _Wrong, _Tobias thought to himself, _you don't have the right stance; you're going to lose balance. _He didn't know where the idea came from, but he trusted his observation. Soon, as he expected, the other Glader punched the boy with brown hair in the rib cage, he lost his balance and toppled over. After a few more punches the boys around him cheered as the winner was announced. But Tobias didn't clap along with them. He still feels as though fighting should be learnt, of course, but not used for entertainment.

He heard a feminine laugh to his left; and as soon as he turned he felt as if he had exploded into flames. She was few metres away from him, standing in front of the vast but contained flames, casting beautiful and hypnotising colours across her skin and blond hair that was now cascading down her shoulders and back. She wore a grey tank top and black shorts that went mid-thigh but still showed off her body in what Tobias thought she would feel comfortable with. Tobias could see the three tattoos she had; three birds flying across her collar bone, flames contained in a ring on her shoulder- the same Tobias had on his rib cage- and hands clasped together on the other. She laughed again as Chuck threw a stick at her, though it missed and landed on the grass. Tobias would remind to teach the kid how to aim properly. She picked it up quickly while it was still glowing on the end, and threw it back at him. As it spun towards the boy it cast red wheels in the air. It was then that Tobias realised why he found the game interesting, it was watching the players achieve the light show of red. Tobias was filled with an energy he could barely describe, every vessel and muscle and organ in his body sung at the same pitch as he watched her. Then he understood what it was. It's her. Something about her makes him feel as though he is about to fall. Or turn into liquid. Or burst into flames. He continued watching her with the other Gladers, content with seeing her happy, belonging, until someone clapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of his revere. It was the Runner, Minho.

"Sup, Greenie?" He held two cups of bubbling drinks in his hand, he offered one to Tobias. The boy took it and said his thanks before taking a sip. The drink burned on the way down but left a sweet and sour aftertaste.

"I see you already found your girl." Minho yelled over the crowd, and took a sip from his own cup. Tobias rolled his eyes and didn't respond, tired of explaining that she isn't _his _girl.

He took another sip of the bubbling, light orange drink and then asked, "What is this stuff?"

The Runner looked down at his cup and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "No clue, but it sure does taste good. Pretty sure Frypan doesn't want to kill us, so…"

"Fair enough," Tobias said, taking another sip and looking at Tris once more. She was making her way towards them with Chuck trailing next to her. She smiled at the two of them when she neared.

"Having fun?" she asks, eyeing the drink in his hand.

"Heaps." He says, smiling at her.

"What have you been doing?" Chuck piped up.

Minho coughed, "Staring at Blondie over here." He murmured and coughed once more, patting his chest for good measure.

"What?" Tris asked confused, she obviously didn't understand what he said.

"Nothing." Tobias explained hurriedly, "I haven't done much yet."

"Well according to Minho-" Tobias covers Chuck's mouth with his hand. He gave the young boy a cold stare, warning him, before he removed his hand. Afterwards he wished he would have tapped it instead.

The young boy grinned mischievously, "You were staring at Tris!" he screamed, and then took of like a rocket in the opposite direction.

"Chuck!" Tobias shouted over Minho's hysterical fits of laughter. He glared at the Runner.

Minho raised his hands in defence, "I'm gonna go get us some more drinks." He walked away still laughing. Tobias looked over at the girl in front of him; she was blushing a deep scarlet and smiling at the ground. The older boy scratched the back of his neck nervously, "So, it looked like you were having fun." He admitted.

She lifted her head and smiled at him, "Yeah it was fun. You should have joined in though." He smiled back at her.

Cheers fill the air and the two look to see a boy on the ground and Gally above him. He wore a proud smirk on his face and turned to look over at the two.

"Well, if it isn't our two lovebirds." He remarked.

Tobias rolled his eyes, hating the boy more than ever. Tris only smiled and sighed dramatically, "It's a pity he still doesn't know when to shut-up." she commented to everyone. Tobias was surprised, to say the least, when many boys around then nodded their agreement.

Gally slowly begins to lose his cool demeanour, but still tried to regain it, "I'd like to see you say that without your boyfriend around." Tris looked at him as though she was deliberating something.

"How about we finally settle this Gabby?" When the boys around them snickered, Gally went red with anger.

"What do you have in mind?" he asks, arms crossed. The boy that was on the floor was then gone, standing by some friends. _Oh shit_, Tobias thought, finally realising why Tris had asked if Gally would be fighting earlier that day.

"Last one standing wins." She said, motioning to the area where he stood. Tobias saw how all of the boys are now crowded around, some even jumping in the back to get a better view.

Gally deliberated for a moment, "Fine," he finally said, "But no one judge me for hitting a girl."

She laughed half-heartedly, "Who says you'll be able to hit me?" Some boys responded with hollers.

"Let's see then." Gally mocks, motioning for Tris to hurry up. Before she went, she quickly winked at Tobias, letting him know she had it all planned out. He shook his head but grinned at her. As she made her way towards the centre of the circle Newt came up and clapped a hand on Tobias' shoulder.

"Can she do it? I mean, he's nearly a head taller." Again, the image of the unconscious girl on the floor with Tris standing above her came to mind.

"Trust me; she's done it before, too well to be honest." He finally glanced over at Newt, he looked impressed, but behind that was a slight doubt.

Tris and Gally circled each other, hands raised in fists to protect their faces, with knees spaced apart and bent to keep balance. Smirking, Gally makes the first move; he punched with his right hand and then his left towards her face with all of his weight. She narrowly avoided them both and countered by punching him in the stomach where he left it unguarded. He bent over, gasping for breath, and she stepped back with her hands raised. When he got up, he had stopped smirking. He charged at her like he'll get her this time, she darted out of the way. As Tobias watched he knew exactly what Tris should do; use her elbows. Because of her petite figure, her best source of strength would either be her legs or elbows. He soon found out she would use both. She blocked his next punch with her forearm and then forced her elbow up at his face. It hit him under his jaw and he looked disorientated for a split second, but before he could retaliate, she had already kicked his legs out from under him. He fell with a thud. Gally looked up at her with a sense of loathing, she just looked over at Alby to Newt's left, "Still think I have too much of a 'sissy side'?"

For a moment there's a silence over the Glade, then everyone erupts into cheers. Tobias found himself looking over at Alby, the Leader was grinning funnily enough. Tris walked towards Tobias as Gally's friends helped him up; he waved them off and continued to give the girl a deadly glare. _Not good, _Tobias thought.

**Umm…. I'm so sorry! I know I said I'd have this done 4 weeks – wait, 5 weeks ago but… I… yeah I got nothing; I really just had to motivate myself into it today. So, sorry again. I know this was really short but I wanted to end it there and go onto the next day in the following chapter. (PS. sorry for any mistakes)**

**Thanks for reading; hopefully I won't take too long for the next chapter. Keyword: hopefully. **

**Leave a review about how you thought the chapter was and I'll probably update quicker…**


	14. Decisions

_His body aches with each step he takes through the hall way. His vision is blurry and constantly shifting. Soon enough the two guards on either side of him say nothing as they open the white door. Tris lays strapped to the metal examining table while what Tobias believes to be scientists shuffle about the room; they are all wearing blue of some sort. Tris looks at him as if she would happily kill someone in that moment. _Why are we here? _He thinks, again having no control over the situation. _

_"What is this?" His voice is croaky, as if from screaming too much. _

_"Tris," He lurches towards her only to be pulled back by the guards. "Tris, are you okay?"_

_"Yeah," she says, "Are you?" She looks tired and worn, but apart from that she is as beautiful as ever._

_He only nods and says nothing. _

_"Rather than waste any more time, Mr. Eaton," _Mr Eaton? _Eventually Tobias understood the woman wearing blue was speaking to him. "I thought I would take the most logical approach…" as she trails on her voice sounds as though it has been muffled. Before he can process what she said he is asked a question. Dream Tobias responds, but he couldn't make out a single word of it. After the woman speaks for a bit longer her voice sounds normal again, "Fear," she says as she taps a syringe containing grey liquid, "is more powerful than pain. So is there anything you'd like to say before I inject Ms Prior?" Tobias tries to scream out for them to stop, but it's no use; Dream Tobias says nothing. The woman injects her with the needle._

_At first everything is quiet, but with one gasp for breath, she starts screaming. But they aren't the screams of fear; they are screams of something else, an emotion that shouldn't exist. Dream Tobias struggles to pull himself from the guards but to no avail. He yells out her name repeatedly but some part of him knows she can't hear it. She thrashes against the bed, looking as if she were trying to free herself and run to him. Tris starts crying out to him with tears streaming down her face, begging for him to stop. But the dream continues, and Tobias realises that it is as if this part of the memory is on repeat; purposely making it a nightmare._

_"Four." He hears a distant voice, "Four!"_

He woke with Tris' screams echoing in his mind.

"Four, what's wrong with you?" Newt asked, sounding worried. Tobias was drenched in sweat with his eyes wide. His muscles were still coiled as he turned his head to the side. Tris was gone.

"Tris," he said, "Where's Tris?"

"Greenie, what-"

"_Where is she_?" He demanded, sitting up and looking around frantically. Newt grabbed the boy by his shoulders and shook him a bit.

"In the kitchen, she's fine, Shank." Tobias let out a breath of relief. "What the bloody hell was going on in your shuck head?"

He was quiet for a moment, then realised he should keep the dreams a secret between him and Tris, just in case, "Nothing, it's nothing; just a bad dream." Newt watched him sceptically for a few seconds.

"Why'd you come wake me up anyway?" Tobias asked, attempting to change topic. Newt smiled a bit, letting it go for the time being.

"What, ya don't like seein' my face first thing on the wake up?"

"No, not necessarily." The other boy was about to respond but stopped when he heard the rumble of the East Door opening.

Tobias felt that urge to go into the Maze again. He wanted to find a way out of this place; and he knew going in there and being a Runner was his best option.

"How do I become a Runner?" He asked, not thinking before he spoke aloud.

"What? I don't think I heard you right." Tobias repeated himself. Newt scrutinised him for a few seconds.

"You're shucked in the head mate."

"Newt-"

"Don't 'Newt' me. You listen nice and pretty, Greenie. Those guys are the best of the best; smart, quick, strong. To survive out there in the Maze you gotta be a decision maker, know the right of risk to take-"

"And who says I can't do it?" Tobias retorted, not letting his chances diminish.

"The fact that you've only been here three days proves it. Besides, little bit too early for death wishes don't you think?"

"I'm serious Newt."

"So am I. Get that idea out of your head. Cause no one, and I mean no one, has become a Runner in their first month. Let alone their first week." Tobias stood up and started packing his sleeping gear.

"I can't just stay here all day pulling weeds or slaughtering animals or doing whatever the hell there is to do." He took a moment to calm himself, "I'll lose it. I need to go in there. I have no idea what I did before I came here. But I know that being a Runner is what I'm supposed to do now."

Newt sat there and watched him for a bit, "No one said you can't. Just give it a rest for now." Tobias sighed.

"Can you at least tell me why?"

"Because if you start stomping around here complaining about how you shouldn't work like a peasant - and how you're all nice and ready to be a Runner – you'll make plenty of enemies. Drop it for now." Tobias knew it wouldn't be any good to make any more enemies, so he didn't speak up again about it. But something was still nagging at him.

"I never said I'm too good or anything. I just said that I won't be able to do this for long without losing my mind." _It just isn't me. _Newt sighed and slapped him on the back.

"Look, I'll make you a deal. You keep your mouth shut about this, and I'll put you on the list of potentials as soon as you show some skills. If you _don't_ keep your trap shut, I'll make sure it never happens." Tobias knew it wasn't the best deal, but it was the best he would get.

"Deal."

"Good, now let's go get some grub from Frypan and his latest apprentice." Newt offered jokingly. "Turns out your girl's quite the cook."

"For the last time she isn't _my_ anything." Everytime someone said that Tobias felt something inside him constrict.

Newt rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine, I'll stop calling her your girl if you admit you want her to be." Tobias stayed quiet, not giving him the satisfaction.

"Okay then, better for me. Now I can call her your girl _and _I know you like her." Tobias' eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but for once he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry, Chuckie boy told me what happened last night before the fight." Heat rushed to his cheeks as the events of last night came rushing in.

"I'm going to kill that kid soon enough." He threatened, walking in the direction of the Kitchen with Newt snickering beside him.

That morning Tobias finally met the famous Frypan, well, from a distance. The guy was beyond busy feeding an army of starving Gladers. He looked no older than sixteen, but he had a full beard and hair sticking out all over the rest of his body, as if each follicle were trying to escape the confines of his food smeared clothes. Overall, he didn't look like the most sanitary guy to oversee all the cooking.

Soon enough Tobias caught sight of the slim, blond girl behind the food counter. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun with stray strands framing her face. Tobias couldn't help but smile when he saw the flour smudges on her arms and cheek. Tris wore a smile on her face as she greeted the Gladers. They each smiled back in some way or another as she gave them their food.

"She's become pretty popular with most of the Glade cause of last night." Chuck says to the two older boys. He had caught up with them after they grabbed their food now sat at one of the benches outside together. Tobias didn't pay much attention to what the boy said after that. The image of Tris thrashing about on the table came back to mind, and all of a sudden it was easy not to smile. She caught sight of them past the crowd and waved, but when she saw Tobias' expression she let her hand fall. With her eyebrows furrowed, she grabbed the attention of another cook and asked him to cover for her. Tris took off her apron and tossed it on one of the benches, taking two apples in the process.

After she walked up to their table and sat next to Chuck, directly across from Tobias she asked, "You going to eat?" nodding towards his full plate of food. Tobias shook his head.

"Not hungry." She sighed and placed the apple in front of him.

"Thought as much." Tris said, and took a bite of the other apple herself. She eyed him wearily, expecting an explanation. He gave her a look to say they'd talk later and took a bite of the apple. Understanding, she looked to the other boys. "You both look chirpy."

"The food's really good today. Something's different." Chuck said, absently tapping his fork on the bench top.

"Maybe it's because Frypan didn't make it." Tris suggested. Tobias took another bite and looked out towards a large group of Gladers that got up and ran to the West Door, they seemed excited about something.

"What's going on?" Tobias asked sounding nonchalant even to his own ears.

Newt shrugged his shoulders as he dug into his eggs, "Just seein' Mihno and Alby off; they're going to check out the buggin' dead Griever."

"Hey," A small piece of bacon flew out of Chuck's mouth as he spoke, "I have a question about that."

"Oh yeah Chuckie," Newt said, somewhat sarcastically, "What's your bloody question?"

Tris frowned at his tone, both she and Tobias hated it how everyone was so harsh on poor Chuck. Sure he was a little overactive and talked too much, but he was a good kid.

"Well, they found a dead Griever right?"

"Yeah, thanks for that bit of news." Newt replied. Before he knew it, Tris had chucked her apple core at his head. Tobias couldn't help but laugh, really laugh. Tris' annoyance diminished when she heard him. She turned back to Newt ad found he was glaring at her, but he stayed silent when she raised an eyebrow at him and narrowed her eyes. **(Rest in Bitch face 101)**

Newt let out a frustrated sigh, "What of it Chuck?" He quickly grabbed the apple core and threw it back at her. She caught it mid-air, smiling victoriously.

The boy frowned, "Lucky catch." But considering he was fending off a smile, the three knew he was joking. They all turned back to Chuck who was laughing his head off. After he composed himself he continued, "Well, who killed the stupid thing." Not surprisingly, Newt stayed quiet. He clearly had no clue.

Tobias was about ready for bed when mid-afternoon came. He had spent the morning with the Keeper of the Gardens, Zart. He was about as tall as Tobias and had short cut black hair. He was quiet and showed Tobias the routine until he could manage it himself; which was quite quickly. Weeding, pruning, planting, picking, anything and everything. He was able to ask him a few questions about the Glade, and to Tobias' surprise, he answered them. Tobias found out about the different Keepers and jobs. So far nothing grabbed his attention. Although the Gardens were a good way to clear his mind and keep him occupied, he knew eventually it would bore him. _Runner, _Tobias thought, _Let me be a Runner. _He tried to push the thoughts away but they kept coming back. Newt's words made sense, and for now he should stop dreaming. Well, _should._

Worn and a bit sore, he made his way to the kitchen. Hopefully Tris would spare him some leftovers from breakfast. He smiled a bit when he thought of her. As soon as he realised what he was doing, he shook his head clear and sighed. Tobias knew Newt was right, he liked her. _There, I said it. But I won't say it again. _**(4)** He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling she wouldn't feel the same way. He snickered to himself; there were dozens of boys in the Glade, it wouldn't be hard for her to find someone else. Who was he? He was the boy that only gave her bad memories, probably got her into this mess. No, she wouldn't feel the same way.

When he stepped through the door he saw Tris in front of the sink washing dishes. The room was practically empty apart from a few boys here and their cleaning up the Kitchen. She turned her head hearing someone come in and visibly brightened when she saw it was him. He wanted to sit down, he truly did. Instead, he grabbed a tea towel and began drying the clean dishes beside her.

"You don't have-"

"I want to." Tobias said, not entirely lying. He didn't really want to clean the dishes; but he did want to help her. She looked at him as though she was about to rebuke, so he beat her to it.

"I'll be as good as scalped if Newt found out I was doing nothing." He told her, "So really, you're doing me a favour." Instead of waiting for her to agree he began drying the cutlery.

She started scrubbing again, "Thank you." They worked alongside each other for a minute or so, washing and drying the dishes quietly. Tris stepped closer to him and spoke in a quiet voice, "What happened this morning, you seemed… different."

_Fear is more powerful than pain. _The woman's voice rang in his memory, followed by Tris' screams. He didn't know it, but he had stopped cleaning the dishes and stood stiffly holding something in his hands.

"Tobias…" Tris turned off the tap watched him carefully. He still hadn't moved; he was barely blinking.

_Tobias!_ _Stop!_ _Please stop!_

His grip on the item in his hand tightened and he winced as he felt a sharp pain across the skin of his palm. He looked down and the knife clattered to the floor. Tris gasped seeing the slash across the inside of his hand. She cradled it both of hers examining it.

"It's not too bad. But we'll have to clean it up."

"I…" Tobias didn't know what to say, everything was fine before. Even during the morning he had thought about the dream; he had never reacted like that though.

She smiled sadly at him, "Come on, take a seat and I'll get the kit." Doing as told he went and sat at one of the tables. He stared at the gash on his hand and watched as dark red blood spilled out of it; he felt beyond ridiculous.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Placing the kit on the table to her left, she pulled out a chair and swivelled it so she sat directly in front of him. He turned as well so their knees were touching. She took his hand in one of hers. Tobias couldn't help but notice how they fit perfectly together.

"This might sting a bit." She said, as she took out the rubbing alcohol. He flinched when it touched his skin, but stayed quiet. He watched her closely, unable to help himself. The way her eyebrows knitted together as she focused on what she was doing, or how she had such a gentle touch; as if she was afraid to hurt him. Mainly how strands of her blond hair constantly fell over her eyes when she put antiseptic on his hand with a cotton pad. Without thinking, he reached out with his free hand and tucked them behind her ear. She froze for a second, then looked up and met his eyes. Tris looked at him as though she was deliberating something, "It was a dream, wasn't it?" He shrugged.

"Kind of," Tobias said. She looked down again and began bandaging his hand. It seemed as though she had dropped the subject, but he knew better. She was waiting for him to tell her. So, taking a breath, he did.

At first she continued on with what she was doing but soon enough she was staring at him wide eyed. He explained how it had felt like a memory, but unlike the other dream, part of it was replayed. She had finished bandaging his hand and held it in both of hers, considering her answer. She opened her mouth to respond but stopped as boys began entering the dining area. Tris placed his hand on his leg and stood up gathering the supplies, "We'll talk later on today, okay?" He nodded. Without another word she walked away, leaving him staring after her.

"Tobias!" Chuck ran up to the boy pointing at his hand, "What did you do to you hand?"

"I, uh, cut myself in the Gardens. Tris just wrapped it up for me." He lied; it wasn't as if he were about to tell the boy what really happened. A sly smile spread across the young boys face as he sat down.

"Oh I see, Tris ya say?" Chuck raised his eyebrows suggestively. Tobias poked the Glader in the ribs, causing him to yelp.

"Chuck I'm seriously considering killing you in your sleep for what you've been saying; so if I were you I'd stay quiet about certain things." Tobias said, exaggerating, yes; but getting his point across. Chuck tried not to look frightened, so he changed the subject.

"What's up with Newt? He's been acting weird the whole afternoon?" He nodded to his left towards the blond boy sitting alone on one of the tables. He was looking out towards the Maze through the window with his blood shot eyes. All the while he chewed absentmindedly on his fingernails. Something Tobias hadn't seen the boy do before. "He looks like you did when you popped out of the box."

"I don't know," Tobias replied, "Maybe we should go ask him."

"I can hear every bloody word you shanks are sayin'." He tells them loudly.

"Well then," Chuck began, "what is wrong with you? No offence, but you look like klunk."

Newt sighed and combed his fingers through his hair, "Alby and Mihno; they should have been back hours ago.

He couldn't help it. It was as if Newt's worry somehow transferred itself to Tobias' conscience. As he sat with Chuck having dinner later that day he would constantly look towards the Maze; half expecting the two boys to run out of there. Newt had told all of the Runners that had come back as usual to have dinner, but he insisted on staying outside the West Doors. As Chuck and Winston talked quietly amongst themselves Tobias realised that even though no one would say it, the Doors would close soon. Unable to eat his food he got up.

"Where are you going?" Chuck asked. The usual chirpiness in his voice had vanished; all of the Gladers were concerned for Alby and Minho.

"To check on Newt and watch the Doors." The boy had been running around the place like a headless chicken the entire afternoon.

Surprisingly, the young boy stayed seated; clearly not wanting to get his hopes up. Tobias left the quieter than usual picnic area and found Newt by the West doors pacing back and forth. He looked up as he heard footsteps. "Where _are_ they?" His voice was strained. Tobias realised how much Newt cared for the duo, almost as if they were his own brothers. His hair resembled a bird's nest and his eyes were shifting back and forth.

Tobias looked into the Maze, he couldn't see past the corridors. He shuddered as he imagined what had happened to the two boys. "There's nothing we can do, is there?"

Newt shook his head solemnly, "No, going in there at night is like beggin' for death, it's not worth throwing more lives away. If those shanks don't make it back…" He hesitated, not wanting to say what everyone was thinking, "They swore an oath, just we all do; no never go out there at night. Never."

Tobias looked up to the sky; the growing darkness of twilight was a perfect fit for the grim occasion. He knew Newt wouldn't say it; but if they weren't back yet, it meant they were most likely dead. He hadn't known the two boys for long, but he knew they were too smart to get lost in the Maze.

"The Doors close in two minutes." Tears glistened in the Gladers eyes as he put his hand on Tobias' shoulder and let it fall to his side. Then he turned and walked away, hunched over, quiet. Tobias shook his head, not believing the turn of events. The day had past so quickly, it was as though everything, for once, would be alright. He snickered to himself. _As if that will ever happen_.

The loud boom sounded signalling the doors were closing. The crunching, grinding noise came next as the right wall rumbled across the ground sending dirt into the air. He looked up to the vertical rows of rods, so many it seemed they reached the sky above. For the first time Tobias felt a true sense of fear towards the Maze. The massive moving wall defied any sense of physics; it seemed impossible.

Something flickered in the Maze.

He froze, the monstrous creature filled his thoughts at first, but as he watched two figures emerged. It was Alby and Minho. The leader was being held up by the Runner with an arm draped along the boys shoulders; practically dragging him along.

Tobias didn't hesitate, "Newt!" He screamed turning away from the Maze, "Their coming! I see them!"

Newt had nearly made it back to the Homestead but as he heard Tobias' cries he began running towards him.

Tobias turned back just in time and saw Minho loose his grip on the boy, causing Alby to fall to the ground unmoving. Desperate, the Runner grabbed him by the arms and dragged him towards the door. But they were still too far away. They weren't going to make it. As Tobias willed the doors to slow they seemed to do the exact opposite; closing faster and faster by the second. They had no chance, no chance at all. Tobias looked back to Newt; he was limping as best as he could but had only made it half way to Tobias. Looking back he saw that there were only a few more metres until the doors would close; a few more metres and it would all be over. Minho stumbled up a head and fell to the ground. They weren't going to make it. Time was up.

"Don't you do it! Don't you bloody do it, Four!" Newt screamed behind him.

Two metres.

The rods on the right wall seemed to act as out-stretched arms trying to reach their home. Towards those little holes that would act as their resting place for the night.

One and a half metres.

The crunching, grating sound filled the Glade, as deafening as ever.

One metre.

_Forgive me, Tris. _He moved, forward; past the rods and at the final moment stepped into the Maze. The walls shut behind him, its echo spreading through the area as if it were sending a signal to the monsters that lived in the Maze.

**I honestly have no excuse other than school. So I'm incredibly sorry I haven't updated earlier. But my holidays have started so I should be able to update more… hopefully. I promise I'll try!**

**I feel like this chapter was a little too choppy, what do you think? Sorry for any mistakes, I finished this off late at night so I'm kind of tired. (Yawns legitimately) Also, I got a review from a reader telling me about my tense issue… Past tense and present tense is my all-time weakness. But I promise I am trying my hardest to improve. Please tell me if I had this issue in this chapter, and if I did, possibly where? Thank you to XxDarknessInsideMexX for bringing it up. **

**Please Review, they make my day! Till next time,**

**DauntlessRunner46**


	15. Running

_The walls shut behind him, its echo spreading through the area as if it were sending a signal to the monsters that lived in the Maze. _

Silence enveloped him like the twilight above; it caused his world to freeze for several seconds. He lifted his hand and placed it against the colossal door; Tobias closed his eyes briefly and thought of Tris. _No. _He needed to forget her in order for him to survive the murderous night. His hand fell from the rough concrete and his mind went blank. Tobias took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and turned away from the door. As he turned he heard a sharp cry escape Alby while Minho laid flat on his back staring at the sky with his face covered by his hands. Tobias ran to the two Gladers and knelt down next to Alby. He had cuts -some deep- and bruises all over him with his clothes torn and dirt stained. Tobias shuddered; he didn't have to ask to know that the exploration of the 'dead' griever was a failure. Minho began to stand up; he looked terrible - sweaty, dirty, with scratches all over his arms and legs.

"Greenie," Minho began, glaring at Tobias, "if you're thinkin' that was brave what you did, listen up. You're the shuckiest shuck-faced shuck there ever was. And you're as good as dead as the both of us." Tobias felt his cheeks flare, annoyance seeping through his thoughts. "Whatever dude. Break the Number One rule. Get yourself killed, whatever."

He kept quiet and looked back at Alby. The boy was losing colour, his usually dark skin was paling by the minute. He took quick shallow breaths; he looked like he was on the edge of death.

Before he made his decision, Tobias said, "We're not going to die." loud enough for Minho to hear.

The other boy simply stared at him for a moment, "Don't kid yourself, Slinthead. No one's ever made it out after getting caught in the Maze. You really think you can?"

Instead of answering he checked Alby's pulse, it was slow but it was there. "Is he going to make it? Can he survive the night?" It was clear to Tobias that the Grievers had stung Alby- whatever that meant. He thought back to the conversation he had with Chuck days ago.

"Since we didn't make it back before sunset, probably not. Could be dead in an hour- I don't know how long it takes if you don't get the serum. Course, we'll be dead soon, so don't get all weepy for him. Yeah, soon we'll all be nice and dead."

Tobias wouldn't give into hopelessness, and if Minho liked it or not, he would help the three of them survive the night. He stood up, and looked around the Maze. He could see about three metres into the corridors, everything after that was black, almost making the space look empty. He turned away once he realised they could be running out of time. They had to move. _But to where? _It was not as if they could just walk around and hope for the best. The corridors weren't safe. _Up. _

Finally, Tobias looked at the vines on the Maze walls and hatched a plan. Whether it would work was a whole other story. "We have to climb." He whispered to himself. Tobias felt his stomach clench; he and heights had never gotten along, and he didn't need his memory to know that. "We have to climb." He said louder.

Minho let out a frustrated sigh, "I swear, Greenie, you must think we're a bunch of idiots. You think we haven't tried climbing the freaking _walls_ before?"

The frustration growing inside Tobias finally burst, "Shut up Minho! Stop moping around and think! How else will we get out of here?!" The boy jumped at Tobias and grabbed him by the shirt.

"You don't _understand_ shuck-face! You don't know anything, you're just making it worse by having hope! We're dead, you hear me? Dead!" Before realising what he was doing, Tobias pushed Minho off him and punched him squarely in the jaw. The boy fell to the floor his face bright red ready to fight back when Tobias pinned him down and clasped a hand down over the boy's mouth.

"You listen to me," Tobias spoke each word carefully; it frightened him how much his demeanour had changed. His words were laced with venom and Minho stopped struggling when Tobias fixed him with a deadly glare, "We are not going to die. Alby, you, and I are getting out of this hell hole by morning. But I swear to God, if you dare get in my way I will kill you myself. Do you understand? Because if you don't we have a problem."

Minho stared at him wide eyes and eventually nodded. Tobias was about to talk again but stopped as soon as he heard the _noise_. Both boys turned their heads towards the corridor as a low, haunting sound came from deep within it. A constant whirling that had a metallic tick here and there, just like knifes scraping against one another. It grew louder by the second eventually having eerie clicks joining in. Soon a hollow moan filled the air accompanied by the rattling of chains.

All together it was horrifying, and Tobias felt his breath quicken. But he willed the racket out and closed his eyes. He breathed in and remembered what he had to do. He _was _getting out of the Maze. He looked back down at Minho who had his eyes wider than before- if that were possible- and was shaking. Tobias knew the only way to get Minho to function now was to speak calmly with him. "Mihno," the boy looked up, "I'm going to get up and when I do you will too. Don't run, 'cause we need to stay together, it's our best way to survive. Got it?" After a second's hesitation Minho nodded quickly, Tobias nodded back and got up. The noises continued and Minho stared vacantly out deeper into the Maze, almost as if half expecting a Griever to jump out at any second.

"Shank," Tobias was surprised hearing himself say it, but he was glad Minho looked at him, "Grab his legs; I have an idea." Together they half carried, half dragged Alby's lifeless body roughly thirty metres to the wall, where Tobias propped him up in a semi-sitting position against the wall. Alby's chest rose and fell with struggled breaths and his skin was covered in sweat. He looked like he wouldn't last much longer. But he didn't dare say it out loud.

The noises grew louder and the roar of engines interspersed with rolling, cranking sounds like chains hoisting machinery in an old, grimy factory. And the smell, something burning, oily. Tobias shook his head and looked and the panicked boy across from him. "Hey," he placed a hand on Minho's shoulder, "just focus on me, Alby, and the Wall. Shut everything else out and don't let it control you."

"Don't let what control me?"

"The fear."

"So what, you want me to be fearless now?" The Runner snickered and looked at the wall.

Tobias deliberated for a moment, "Being fearless isn't the point." He said, "That's impossible. It's learning how to control you fear and how to be free from it. That's the point." The words felt strange to him, as if he had said it before. "Now come on." The two of them stood and faced the wall. Tobias grabbed hold of one of the vines that went all the way to the floor and wrapped it around his hand. It was felt thicker and stronger than he imagined, about three centimetres in diameter. The more he stepped backwards with it, the faster it ripped from the wall. Once he was about four metres from the wall he could no longer see where the vine was still attached on the wall far above. He pulled at it hard- but it remained where it was.

It had held.

He pulled on it again and again, but it wouldn't budge. Lastly, he lifted his feet and hung onto the vine, his body swung forward in the process.

It held.

That meant somewhere up there it remained attached to the wall. Minho copied his actions and eventually the two boys had a number of climbing ropes. They tested all of them the same and they each seemed to be as strong as the first. Once they were content with their work Tobias began contemplating how they would get all three of them up there. But his thoughts were jarred as a sharp crack echoed within the Maze. Both boys looked back towards all three corridors; the sounds were coming louder and faster now, and the air had brightened ever so slightly. Tobias could see better than he had minutes ago. The Grievers were close, they had to be.

Tobias slowed his breath and got to work. He grabbed one of the vines and motioned for Minho to copy him. Neither of the boys wished to speak unless it was completely necessary, almost expecting the Grievers to hear them. They wrapped the vines on both of Alby's arms several times, Tobias was afraid they were cutting off his blood circulation, but it was worth the risk. They tied them off and did both of his legs as well.

Tobias spoke in a hushed voice, "Climb up, just above him, and I'll stay here."

"What-"

"Just do what I said." Surprisingly, Minho obeyed. Being in the Maze had obviously changed him. Once he was up he tied a vine across his chest, and luckily, it held as well.

"Pull." They were able to raise Alby a metre or so and Minho tied him off while Tobias held him in place. Now it was Tobias' turn. He was elated when he found the large cracks on the wall made for supports for his feet. He winced as he felt a stinging on his hand. The large cut he had made on his palm at lunch was seeping blood once more, it could be seen against the dirt stained bandages. Ignoring it, they continued to push and pull Alby up metre by metre. They repeated the process over and over again.

Climb, wrap, push up, tie off.

Climb, wrap, push up, tie off.

At least the Grievers were moving slowly through the Maze, giving them time. The effort was exhausting, Tobias could feel sweat cover every part of his body and his hand was burning with the sweat and the constant rubbing of the vines against his palm. Not to mention the trail of blood he had left behind on the vines below them. Once they had reached twenty metres Tobias' muscles were on fire and he couldn't move Alby up another inch.

Tobias saw the first glimmer of light shine through the Maze, and he knew they were done. Whatever were to happen, he and Minho would face their fate here, hanging from the wall, with nothing but height and silence to work in their favour.

Clangs from the Maze. Whirs. Buzzes. Moans. They had all escalated to an all-time crescendo as the creatures neared and taken on a high pitched, mechanical squeal, like a robotic cry of death. Without being told, Minho went silent. A red flash caught Tobias' attention and to his surprise he saw a beetle blade a few centimetres from his face, its spindly legs had stuck through the ivy and somehow it had attached itself to the wall. The torso was a silver cylinder, roughly seven centimetres in diameter and twenty centimetres long. It had twelve appendages sticking out over its body, making it look like a sleeping lizard. With the red light from its eye casting an eerie glow on itself, Tobias could finally make out what was written on its body.

** ED**

What disturbed him the most was that it looked as though the word had been written in blood, dark crimson against the robotic body. He did not know what the purpose of the word was; and he hadn't the care to discover what it was at the time. He had more important things on his mind. As if seeing he was being paid no attention, the mechanical bug scuttled away.

Moments later Tobias heard another squeal screech through the maze. Both boys imitated Alby's lifeless form and clung to the wall.

And then something rounded the corner and came towards them.

Something Tobias had seen before, but through the safety of think glass.

A Griever.

Tobias' eyes widened in shock at the monster making its way through the long corridor. It looked like an experiment gone terribly wrong- like something out of a nightmare. Part animal, part machine, the Griever rolled and clicked along the stone pathway. Its body resembled a gigantic slug, sparsely covered in hair and glistening with slime. Tobias saw no distinguishable head or tail, but it was at least three metres long and one metre wide. Every ten to fifteen seconds, sharp metal spikes popped through its bulbous flesh and the whole creature curled in on itself and rolled forward. Then it would settle, as if examining the area once more, the spikes receded back into the skin with a grotesque slurping sound. It did the over and over again, traveling a few metres or so each time. Along with the hair and spikes there were additional randomly placed mechanical arms sticking out here and there, each carrying a different purpose. Some had long menacing needles while others had various sized, bright lights. One had a three fingered claw that mindlessly clasped and unclasped with no apparent reason. When the creature rolled, these attachments folded in or manoeuvred to avoid being crushed. Tobias wondered who had made this horrendous creature. Why. But then he reminded himself, they would be the same people that watched on as innocent children died at their mercy. Tobias felt heat rush to his face and anger as he watched the beast. The source of the sounds he had been hearing made sense now, when the Griever would roll, it made the metallic whirring sound, like the spinning blade of a saw. The spikes and the arms explained the creepy clicking noises, metal against stone. But nothing sent chills up Tobias' spine like the haunted moans that somehow escaped the creature. They were like the sounds of dying boys the Grievers had captured and… god knows what. Tobias shuddered and continued to watch. He fought the fear, forced his body perfectly still, and hung limply in the ivy. Their only hope was to go undetected, _It can't see us_. He thought, _Can it?_ And then he answered his own question, the beetle blade had given away their location just seconds ago. The Griever rolled and clicked its way closer, zigzagging back and forth, moaning and whirring. Every time it moved the arms would move about slowly, as if detecting any signs of life. The light cast eerie shadows across the Maze. A strong whiff of something burnt stung his nostrils and; a sick mixture of overheated engines and charred flesh. A fresh wave of nostalgia hit him like a train

**(Get it?)**

And reminded him of why he needed to get out of here. Tobias closed his eyes, not for the first time that night, and focused on staying completely still. The Griever kept coming.

_Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr_

_Click-click-click_

_Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr_

_Click-click-click _

_Go the other way _Tobias pleaded silently.

_Turn. _

_Go. _

_Leave._

_Shuck!_

He slowly opened his eyes without moving his head and saw the Grievers spikes pop out, it body rolled towards the three boys.

_Whirrrrrrrrrrrrr _

_Click-click-click_

It came to a stop, and then rolled once more, right up to the wall. A few metres to the left below them. No one dared make a sound. The beams of light from the creature shone all over the place, completely random, never settling in one spot.

Then, without any warning, they went out.

The world turned instantly dark and silent. It was as if the creature had turned _off_. It didn't move. Made no sound. And without the lights, Tobias couldn't see a thing.

He was blind.

It had been seconds, minutes, and still… nothing. No movement, no light, no sound. In ways, Tobias thought this was worse than facing the creature head on. Not knowing when or how he would die was killing him already. _Get a grip. _Tris' smile came to mind. _No, we are not going to die. _More antagonising moments passed and Tobias felt as though he would explode.

_Hurry up and kill me or go back to your hiding place! _ Tobias shouted into oblivion.

Then, a sudden burst of light and sound disrupted his senses. The Griever came back to life, whirring and clicking.

And then it started to climb the wall.

Its spikes tore into the wall, causing debris to go flying everywhere. Its arms shifted around like the legs of the Beetle Blade, some with sharp picks that drove into the wall for support. A bright light at the end of one arm pointed directly at the boys, and this time, it didn't move.

Tobias knew the only option left was to run. _I'm so sorry, Tris. _

Tobias untangled himself from the vines, kept holding onto them and turned to face Minho. His face had gone a ghostly white and Tobias felt this was the right thing to do.

"Stay here and if another one comes _run_." Tobias payed no attention to volume now, before the Runner had a chance to speak up, he added, "Tell her I didn't want to leave her."

"No, wait!" Minho panicked, guilt written all over his face.

"Do as I said!" Tobias grabbed a vine over half a metre away from him, wrapped it around his hand and tugged. It held true, just like the others. Tobias gave Minho one last glance, he found enough courage in him to offer him a sad smile, "Trust me." And with that he heaved his body to the right, scraping along the wall. Before his pendulum swing took him back towards Alby, he grabbed another vine and repeated the process. Tobias found himself moving with ease and speed, more than he could have hoped for. And for the first time, he was conquering his fears. Due to the threat of the Griever he had forgotten his fear of heights and adapted to survive.

The sounds of their pursuer went on relentlessly, only now the bone shuddering addition of cracking and splitting rock joined in. Tobias took three more swings before he looked back. And he panicked; his plan wasn't working. Instead of following him, the Griever continued onwards towards Minho and Alby. New plan.

"Hey!" Tobias shouted at the top of his lungs, followed by continuous profanities aimed towards the creature. The Griever stopped and looked between his two targets, and to Tobias' relief, however small, it began to close the gap between them.

_Finally, _Tobias thought, _something's gone right. _

Tobias continued forward and did not look back however much it pained him. He could hear the Griever gaining up on him, and all he had to do now was get down.

He cussed under his breath; he knew what to do, no matter how much it made him sick.

On his next swing, Tobias did not grab the next vine. Instead, he waited and free fell for a moment until he grabbed one after it, lower down. The ivy rope burned his palm, and scorching pain burned up his arms. The adrenalin rushing through his body helped push away his fear – he just kept moving. After another four times he was roughly six metres above the ground, he jumped and rolled on the ground, trying not to injure his legs; he was going to need them desperately. He stood and took off running, despite the scream of exhaustion from his body. A booming crash sounded behind him, followed by the rolling cracking, whirring of the Griever. But Tobias didn't look back, he knew every second counted.

He rounded the next corner of the Maze, than another, and another. With his breaths coming short hollow and his feet pounding against the floor, he ran as fast as he possibly could. Somewhere in the back of his mind he attempted to memorise and track his own movements; hoping he would need them to return to the door.

Right, then left. Another Left. Down a long corridor, and right. Right. Left. Two rights. Another long corridor. The howls of pursuit did not fade, but he was not losing ground either. On and on he ran relentlessly, for how long he could not be sure. Now he was sucking in great heaves of breath, trying to fill his lungs with oxygen, he didn't think he would last much longer. Would it just be easier to turn around and fight, get it over with quickly? When he rounded the next corner he skidded to a halt staring wide eyed in front of him.

Three Grievers were up ahead, their great metal spikes dug into the stone, coming straight at him. Tobias turned and saw his original pursuer coming at him from behind, strangely it had slowed. A glum thought came to Tobias. _It thinks I'm done, _he thought. It was mocking him, with its claw clasping and unclasping. Even though Tobias knew his time was up, he would go down fighting. He wasn't sure what it was, but the combined grief and frustration of his situation and the utter disbelief that this Maze was even possible, Tobias could not hold in a laugh and smile. He would show the _creators _he was bold enough the fight. Brave enough.

**Hey guys… and girls…. Well, to be honest I don't know a single guy that reads fanfiction but I know a lot of girls that do…. Hmm… I always wondered how many Fanboys exist, their quite rare though. ****J**** I mean no offence, I have honestly always been curious about it. So back to the norm, I started school today, whoo… *cough*not. So unfortunately it might take a while to update. A big thankyou to all of you that have reviewed, followed and favoured! It's nice to know you guys enjoy it. How did I go? Was I better with my tense issue? I have to be honest, I didn't re-read this much because I've been kind of busy so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Please leave a review no matter how short it is! I don't mind!**

**Oh! Before I forget! Have any of you read "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer? I thought it was alright, not at the top of my favourites list but it was a good read (I finished it in two days). What did you think about it? I've been wondering how everyone else reacted to it cause my book friends at school haven't read it. Shuck heads… Jokes, they're good fun, the get my book references when I say them out loud without realising it. Except this one friend of mine, ugh, I suffer sometimes. I'll tell you the story of my Divergent issue. I made a reference at school today from the book and she said, "Oh, that's from that fractions movie, right?"…. FFFRRRAAACCCCTTTIIIOOOONNNSSS!? I was so annoyed but I breathed and went and vented to a book friend… yeah… you guys have any good stories like mine? It would be good to know I'm not the only one with these issues. **

**Thanks for reading!**

\- **DauntlessRunner46**


	16. You- You complete… ass Tobias

_Even though Tobias knew his time was up, he would go down fighting. He wasn't sure what it was, but the combined grief and frustration of his situation and the utter disbelief that this Maze was even possible, Tobias could not hold in a laugh and smile. He would show the creators he was bold enough to fight. Brave enough._

Preferring one over three, he ran straight towards the first Griever. The ugly creature stopped and moved back the slightest centimetre, its claw still, as if it was shocked by his move. Then it came back to life, spikes popping out of his skin, slime flying to and fro, rolling forward planning to collide head on with its enemy. Tobias didn't stop running. At the last second before collision he got a closer look at the hair and metal and slime. Tobias planted his right foot down and dived to the left. Unable to stop its momentum, the Griever continued to roll. Tobias didn't miss that the thing was moving faster now. Letting out a metallic howl, it readied itself to charge once more. But now, Tobias was no longer surrounded. He had a clear shot back down the path. Already on his feet he started to sprint once more. The sounds of hot pursuit, from all four Grievers followed him down the hallways. His entire body was on fire, but he didn't look back. Then, the unimaginable happened. The impossible. His entire body froze; he could still hear the Grievers behind him, but it made no difference. He could not move. He had no control over his body. Tobias stood there, arms by his side, feet firmly planted on the floor and eyes wide. Tobias thrashed inside of his own body, unable to break free of whatever held him. Finally, his feet moved, so did his legs; but neither was his doing. He had turned towards the other corridor, across from the one he was about to take.

And then he was running again. His arms pumped and his legs moved in an almost robotic motion. Although he had no idea of what was going on, he went on relentlessly, taking corridor by corridor. Left. Right. A mirroring corridor. Two lefts. Tobias was willing to admit he panicked, he could not release himself from his restraints, and that frightened him. What if he was running towards more Grievers? After a few turns later, he got closer to something that seemed out of place. The faint light emitting from the Grievers behind let him finally realise just how much of an anomaly it was.

The passageway did not end with an opening for another corridor.

It did not lead to anything except the dark.

Tobias attempted to run a bit faster to the wall of darkness, but of course, could not. Two Ivy walls on either side of him intersected with nothing but sky up ahead. He could see the twinkle of stars, and at last he realised where he was. It was an opening – the Maze ended. With a jittering stop, Tobias almost crumpled forward, but he straightened. He was back in control. Bewildered, he lifted his hand in front of his face, opening and closing his hand. Breathing hard, he started running towards the passageway, then, he slowed and walked up to where the Maze opened out to the sky. He knew the pursuing Grievers were getting close; he could hear their metallic cries echoing off the walls louder and louder. But he had to see it.

It was nothing to get excited about. He, or rather whatever was controlling his body, had indeed found an exit from the Maze, but all Tobias could see, left, right, up, down and centre was empty air and faded stars. It was an unsettling sight; Tobias took an involuntary step back, becoming consumed by vertigo and fear. He almost felt cheated. Taking another step back Tobias noticed that dawn was finally settling and the sky had lightened significantly in the last few moments. And for the hundredth time, Tobias wondered how any of this was possible.

"I don't get it." He whispered to himself, it was like someone had built the Maze so it hovered in open space, destined to do so for eternity. Seeing the open sky in front of him had let him forget where he was exactly, but the roaring of the Grievers behind him took care of that. Tobias whipped around and continued to breathe raggedly.

_Think, think, think! _Tobias' entire body shook with adrenalin and nerves. He thought about his actions earlier; they had worked for him them, perhaps they would work for him again. They were only dozens of metres away, single file, charging in with hast and vengeance. He shifted in front of the drop-off, at the very middle of the corridor, facing the Grievers. His heels were only centimetres away from the edge, and to his disliking, he took another involuntary step forward. One after the other, the monsters rolled in. Tobias did not know why they moved in single file, and at that moment he did not care. All he focused on was the plan. They neared closer, moaning and clicking, ready to kill.

"Come on, come on…" Tobias whispered under his breath, "Come on." He hated every second of waiting. Ultimately, when the first Grievers claw reached out to grab him, Tobias dove to the left outer wall and narrowly avoided the creature's grasp. To his upmost content, the screech that escaped the Griever let him know it had worked. It flew off the edge of the drop and, surprisingly, its cry cut short instead of fading into the abyss. Tobias landed against the wall, and turned in time to see the second creature fall. The third one planted a heavily spiked arm into the Maze floor, but its momentum was to strong and it tumbled in with the same robotic cry as the others. And yet again they made no sound as they fell into the great beyond- almost as if they had disappeared instead of falling. The fourth and final creature was able to stop in time; it teetered off the ledge, holding itself up with its claw, the scraping of metal against concrete sent shivers down Tobias' spine. It was halfway between falling and pulling itself up. Another cry escaped it, as though it was frustrated and panicked. Tobias knew what he had to do; if the Griever regained balance it would be the end of him. Her ran at the Griever with every last bit of his strength and jumped feet first at the creature, kicking out at the last second with everything he had. But he didn't expect what came next. As the creature lost its balance, its claw reached out for anything and everything. Tobias panicked as the metal grabbed hold of his leg, slicing through his skin, he stifled a yelp as he was pulled to the ground. The creature dragged him along the concrete floor, but for some unthinkable reason the Griever released its grasp at the last minute and began to plummet. Tobias had been dragged to the very corner of the edge; the only thing keeping him from falling to his death was the strength he had to keep his arms on the rough edge of the cliff. Tobias let out a groan of frustration when he couldn't pull himself up. He panted and tried over and over, but to no avail. He wasn't sure why, but for the millionth time that night; of course, he thought of Tris. But he didn't imagine her, he remembered her. With her blond hair splayed out as her small frame fell onto a black, thick net. He slowed his breathing. This was it. He was done. Tobias, having given up, closed his eyes.

"No you don't!" Tobias gasped in relief.

"Minho!" he shouted, filling with hope. The boy kneed down and grasped Tobias' forearms, and with the strength of the two boys, managed to pull Tobias over the edge. Even when he was up, he turned and shuffled backwards until he was a few good feet away from the drop, only then did he fall on his back and breathe deeply.

"Oh man…" Minho took one look at the boy's leg and moved over to examine it further. He ripped the material of Tobias pants at his knee.

"How… did you find me?" Tobias asked between breaths, his voice raw, looking at the stars.

"The trail of blood and the noise, mainly the noise." He replied, simply stating a fact. Tobias raised his sliced hand and saw it was covered and fresh and dried blood, a few red streaks running down his arm. He got up on his elbows and saw his leg. There were three relatively deep cuts along his calf from the claw, he was lucky it had been seeping blood at a slow rate. Minho took the fabric he had ripped off, even though it was incrusted with blood, and tied it tightly to Tobias' leg. He lay down on the floor once more. Seeing there was no more he could do, Minho got up and sat against the wall. The two were silent, neither knowing what to say. Eventually, Tobias spoke up.

"Thanks for pulling me up." Minho said nothing for a while, then, ever so quietly he said,

"Now we're even. Thanks for knockin' some sense into me. Literally." Tobias could imagine the eye roll. He smiled a little and closed his eyes. He thought back to the Grievers when they had fallen in.

"You planning on telling me what the hell happened?" Minho asked. Sighing, Tobias began to tell the Runner what happened after they had split. He told him of what he had done when he was cornered by the Grieves to escape, but when he began talking about how he had frozen, Minho bombarded him with questions. Tobias did not consider what would happen if he told him about that, but the exhaustion had rattled his mind and he could not care less. After explaining he did not know what happened, he continued. Once he finally finished telling him everything, Minho said nothing. They were in an awkward silence once more as Minho considered all of this.

"Well…" he said, "Shuck it. I don't even wanna think about how you managed to pull this off."

Tobias knew he should feel proud or something, but all he felt was relief that he was still alive.

"It's weird, it was like they had disappeared after they went over the edge." Tobias said, "What do you think happened?"

"Beats me. Maybe their magic. My head hurts too much to think about it."

With a jolt, all thoughts of the cliff were forgotten.

"What about Alby?" Tobias was already sitting up looking at Minho for answers.

"What do you mean "what about Alby"? He's still up on the wall." He looked down solemnly, "No way he's alive."

"Oh, come on." He got up and started half limping to the corridor.

"No one's ever made it…" He trailed off.

"That's because they were already killed by Grievers before they could get the serum." For some odd reason; the word 'serum' triggered something in Tobias, he just wasn't sure what.

Minho stood up and made his way next to Tobias, "I don't know. This never happened before. Surviving a night in the Maze, I guess. A few guys have been stung by needles before in the day. And those are the ones that got the serum and went through the Changing. The poor shanks that got stuck in the Maze weren't found until later; days later sometimes. If at all. And all of them were killed in ways you don't wanna think about."

Tobias shuddered at the thought, "Considering what we just went through, I think I can imagine."

Minho looked up, surprise transforming his face, "I think you just proved us wrong. You've got a point, well, hopefully. Because no one that got stung and didn't get back before sunset ever survived. We just assumed that there was a point of no return- when it's too late to get the Serum."

Again, the word Serum nagged at Tobias, as the two boys picked up the pace, he asked, "What is the serum, and where do you guys get it?"

"It's just that, shank. It's a serum. The Grief serum. We get it from the creators." An image of the woman holding the syringe containing grey liquid comes to mind. "It's with the supplies in the Box every week. Always has been. It's a type of medicine or antidote or something. Already comes in a medical syringe. Stick that sucker in someone's arm and it'll saves 'em. They go through the Changing- which sucks- but after that it's fine."

A minute or two passed in silence as Tobias let all the information sink in. As he limped next to Minho, he wondered if the same people that trapped them in the Glade were the ones in his dream. He wondered about the changing, and what it meant.

"Weird though," Minho continued, "We've never talked about this before. If he's still alive, there's really no reason to think Alby can't be saved by the serum. We somehow got it into our klunk heads that after the doors close, that's it, you're done." He let out a laugh, "They're gonna freak when they find Alby where we left him. Probably wouldn't believe us if they didn't see it for themselves."

They continued walking a little longer, they attempted to pick up the pace even more, but their bodies were far too sore. But as they rounded another corner, Tobias' heart skipped a beat. They had made it back. They had made it through the night. He saw Newt and other Gladers up ahead.

At the boy's appearance Newt limped over to them. Taking in Tobias' appearance he must have guessed they had been through more than enough, "What happened?" He almost sounded angry, "How in the bloody-"

"We'll tell you later." Tobias cut in, "We need to get Alby."

Newt's face went white, "What do you mean? He's alive?"

"He was when we left him up there."

"When you left him _up there_?" Newt seemed shocked to say the least.

"Just come on." Tobias craned his neck and looked high up the wall, searching through the thick vines until he found Alby's seemingly lifeless form hanging. Tobias pointed up at him without a word. He was still there, but he did not want to get his hopes up.

Newt's eyes widened as he saw his friend in between the vines. "Is he… alive?"

_Hopefully,_ Tobias thought. "I told you, we don't know."

Newt shook his head, "You and Minho get your butts inside, get yourselves checked by the Med-jacks. You both look bloody awful. I want the whole story when you two are finished and rested up. Tobias took one last glance at Alby and began limping once more. He did not need to be told twice. His leg was throbbing and he desperately wanted to sleep.

The walk back into the Glade and to the Homestead seemed endless. Tobias hated the attention he got from all the Gladers. Rows upon rows stood, gawking at them, as if they were two ghosts. Their faces showed complete awe, Tobias knew it was because they had done something that had never been accomplished before, but he was not in the mood for attention. Although he had to admit, when he saw Gally up ahead, arms crossed and glaring, Tobias knew he would lose it if the Glader said a single word to him. He looked at him straight in the eyes and did not look away. When he neared to a couple metres, the boys stare lowered to the ground. It did not disturb Tobias how indifferent he felt. Not one bit. The next few minutes went by as a blur; escorted into the Homestead by a couple of Med-jacks, up the stairs, entering their rooms, into bed, food, bandages. And finally, he was left alone. His head resting on the softest pillow his very limited memory could recall. Through all of this he wondered where Tris was. He hadn't seen her among the other Gladers that gawked at him, and he didn't see her in the Homestead. Tobias thought she must have been angry at him. He had to admit, she had her reasons. If he would have died she would only have Chuck, and maybe Newt and Minho. Still, he was dying to see her. As he slowly drifted off to sleep, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but he swore he saw Tris enter his room. Either way, he was too far gone.

**AN: I wasn't sure if I would end the chapter there but then I decided I wouldn't cause I practically rushed the chapter just to get up to this bit. **

As Tobias slowly regained consciousness hours later- days for all he knew- he wasn't alone. He could feel soft, delicate fingers run through his hair. He knew who it was, but he just didn't want to wake up yet, knowing fully well what was coming. The hand stopped passing through his hair and, by the small jolt, rested on the bed.

"I know you're awake." She said, sounding tired.

Sighing, he opened his eyes that met with Tris' grey blue ones. She sat on the edge of his bed, the softness in her eyes that must have been there seconds before were gone, replaced with an emotionless stare. There were small bags under her eyes, letting Tobias know she must have been awake most of the night. Her lips were set in a stern line and Tobias could practically feel the tension in the air.

Regrettably, he said, "Hey…"

She raised her eyebrows, "Hey?" She got off the bed and paced back and forth in the room. Tobias sat up in bed and leaned back against the wall; he knew fully well things were going downhill.

"Hey?" She snickered, and she looked about as angry as Tobias can remember seeing her. Her cheeks tinted red, her eyes ablaze and her hands in tight fists. "You- You complete… ass Tobias."

_So far so good, _Tobias thought sarcastically to himself. She looked a bit shocked she said it. Only a little bit.

"You show up here after spending a night in _there. _And all you have to say is 'Hey'?" She stopped pacing and looked straight at him, "When Newt came back I thought that was it; you were gone. And everyone was saying it. "Yeah, he's a goner.", "No one ever lasted the night.", and you know what? I had to believe them, because I've only been here for 3 days. _3 days_." Tobias felt something inside him constrict as he saw moisture in her eyes. "Y-you don't g-get to just come back and s-say 'hey'." Tris stuttered, she took a breath and attempted to calm herself, "I thought the only person I remember, the only person that maybe cares about me in this god damn place was dead." She winced, clearly regretting what she said. As she wiped the back of her hand against her eyes Tobias caved in. He got up and in two strides had her in his arms. At first she tried to push him away, but as Tris began to sniffle she gave up wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face to his shoulder.

"Please don't cry Tris. I'm sorry, I just…" he sighed, "I couldn't just stand there. And you know that."

At first she refused to give in, but Tobias could see she was torn between being angry with him and knowing he was right. "I know" she caved. After that they remained silent for a few moments, Tobias was grateful when her sniffling subdued, he lifted a hand to her cheek and wiped away her tears. It was then that he realised this was the closest they had been to each other since they arrived. It sent heat to the tips of his ears.

"When the doors closed behind me, you know who I thought of?" Tobias murmured into her hair.

"Considering you don't really know that many people, I guess it was me." He chuckled at her response.

"As soon as I did I realised that I had to forget about you so I could focus on getting out. I was wrong; you made me stronger, Tris. When I was in trouble I thought of you, and that's what would help get me through it."

As the words left him the door opened, "Whoa man, a bit too much don't you think?" Minho said, with Newt and Chuck behind him.

The two sprang apart, Tris' face getting redder by the second. Sensing her discomfort and worry, Tobias narrowed his eyes at the boys, "How long were you eavesdropping?"

"Since Tris called you an ass." Chuck said innocently.

"Sorry mate, but you did deserve it." Newt put in, not as angry as he was before.

Tobias rolled his eyes, "What do you want?"

"Well miss prissy pants, we thought you'd want to know that Alby made it." The annoyance instantly washed away and was replaced with relief. It didn't surprise him how much joy the new information brought. But then the wary glances from Minho and Newt, together with the next words from Chuck made him reconsider.

"He's started the Changing." As if brought on by words, a blood chilling scream erupted from one of the rooms down the hall.


	17. Chapter 17

Please just give me a chance and read this authors note, please. I beg of you.

I accept any judgement because frankly I deserve it. But I do have some reasons as to why I haven't been posting, like at all.

\- School. Enough said. It sucks, and some people there also suck. The whole system SUCKS.

\- Other Fandoms. Don't get me wrong, I am still an utter fangirl with Divergent… but I've also recently become an absolute, crazed Marvel fangirl (Basically since they made my ship sail in AOU, but it's gotten stronger now that I'm re-watching all the movies and reading so many fanfictions), Red Queen fangirl, and Shannara Chronicles fangirl. So sometimes, yes, instead of writing my fics I prefer to read some adorable Brutasha stories. I'm sorry, but come on, can you really blame me?

As you can see these in NO way excuse my behaviour, I updated in February… that's so long ago, and I'm so sorry. I'm just working out the kinks in the story and I promise, cross my heart, I will NOT GIVE UP. I'm not sure if this is the correct word; but I'm officially putting this story on Hiatus. I'm sorry, I know it's so frustrating when you're reading a fanfic and this happens; but I'd rather do this than write a crap story. And I would like to send you all an apology, especially to ThatOneLife, who I told, and I quote, "I will definitely be updating soon."… That was more than two months ago. I'm so sorry, to everyone for having to deal with my asinine self. But please don't give up on me, I promise I will continue this fanfiction.

I would like to say a huge thank you to you all! You guys are amazing just for reading this ridiculous authors note. I just love reading your reviews and PMs and just getting those emails that say someone followed or favoured this story. I know this is said a lot, but it seriously makes my day.

Once again; big thank you, even bigger apology for my ridiculousness, you guys are amazing and I will continue this story.

Sorry and thank you again,

DauntlessRunner46

(And if you haven't seen Captain America: Civil War… you should go watch it. It was amazing! And if any of you are by chance Brutasha shippers, you're awesome. Even if you're not, you're awesome too though J )


	18. Escape and Revenge

_"He's started the Changing." As if brought on by words, a blood chilling scream erupted from one of the rooms down the hall. _

That morning Tobias thought long and hard about the leader in the Homestead. He wondered if their current situation could even be classified as a victory. Sure, they had saved Alby's life, and brought him back from the Maze, but was it worth it? Alby was now, as Minho explained, in intense pain, and was going through exactly the same things Ben had. What if all the Gladers that go through the Changing become psychotic? That very thought rang through his mind over and over, as it seemed impossible to escape Alby's blood curdling screams. Eventually, Tobias realised Alby's screams would go on into the night.

Tobias couldn't take it anymore, he had convinced the Med-jacks to let him go – saying he was perfectly fine. It frustrated him when Tris pointed out he was weary, sore, and bandaged. When the other boys were a good distance away, he told her he was tired of the piercing, agonised wails of their leader. Eventually she gave up, but wouldn't leave his side until she had to go to the kitchens. Tobias had asked Newt if he could see Alby, but the boy didn't let him step foot in the secluded room. "It'll only make things worse." Newt had said. Tobias attempted to reason with him, but gave up; no matter what, he could not be swayed. As an effect of the little amount of sleep he attained; Tobias was exhausted. Yet, before he left he asked Newt if there was any work he could do. He knew that if he wasn't working in any way he would soon fall into a stupor in which he would wallow in useless self-pity. Newt, exclaiming it wasn't a good idea, told him to get some rest. Even though his muscles were sore, cuts and bruises covered him from head to toe, he refused to sit still. For most of the afternoon he walked around, watching everything, keeping his mind off the night in the Maze as much as possible. However, the constant pairs of eyes tracing his every move frustrated Tobias. He gave up and went into the kitchens, hoping Tris would offer him some work to do. Never had he been so wrong.

"No." She said, not turning away from the bubbling liquid in front of her. She had questioned him as to why he wasn't resting, and as soon as Tobias told her, she narrowed her eyes ignored him as much as possible.

"Come on." Tobias whined. No reply. "Tris, just-"

"No." Tris said, in the same dronish tone.

"Why?"

"You need rest."

"Oh please," Tobias said, brushing it off, "I'm fine, just give me something simple. Like scrubbing dishes or-"

"I got a better option." They turned around to see the Keeper of the Kitchens holding a box of vegetables, placing them in the counter in front of Tobias.

"Don't even think about it, Frypan." She pointed an unused wooden spoon at him as though it were a weapon. "He is not working." She had such a final tone and attitude it made Tobias chuckle.

"Can't stop him, can we?" As the boy said it, Tobias had picked out a few vegetables. As he washed some celery and carrots with a grin plastered on his face, he heard Tris grumble in defeat, something about "Boys… stubbornness… don't listen..."

He coughed and under his breath he said, "Hypocrite." And cleared his throat a second time for good measure.

This earned him a well-deserved wack on the head with the handle of the unused wooden spoon, "Oh shut up." Tris said, glaring at her sauce, which Tobias soon discovered was for the noodles they would have for dinner. They worked in silence, and Tobias felt that his close proximity with Tris and the never ending pile of vegetables cleared his mind better than expected. Eventually, he had finished his duty, and yet again was left with nothing to do. Knowing it was pointless asking her, he picked up a clean dish cloth and began drying the dishes left on a counter. He couldn't help but be surprised as Tris said nothing, but cast him a sideways glance. Unfortunately the task was quicker than anticipated; he looked around, searching for some other task. He stopped once he felt a soft and gentle grip on his forearm.

"Please, Tobias, you look like you need rest. Just… why don't you go sit at one of the tables, I have my break once dinner's given out." He was about to object and say he was fine, but when he opened his mouth to speak an involuntary yawn escaped him, causing him to clamp a hand over his mouth. Tris smiled a little. He rolled his eyes, for the first time annoyed that she knew him too well.

He left her to her duties, and went in search for a table. He settled for one outside, furthest away from the Gladers who would soon come for dinner. Tobias found himself staring out towards the gigantic Maze doors, for the first time respecting the passion the Gladers had for finding an escape. However, escape wasn't all he wanted. Tobias felt a sudden surge of hatred for the Creators; he wanted revenge for all they had put them through. If Newt and the others hadn't been able to find a way out of the Maze after two _years _of searching, who was to say they would find one at all. He rested his head in his hands, closing his eyes. The fact that these boys hadn't given up hope said more about them than anything else.

And now he was one of them.

_This can't be my life, _he thought glumly, _living in a Maze with no escape, never knowing who I was. _Alby's screams of agony, though now distant, would not cease. Tobias covered his ears every time he heard them, but it wouldn't drown them out. Eventually the day dragged to a close, and as the sun set, the now familiar sound of the four closing doors echoed through the Glade.

More and more boys filed in, probably starving from a hard days' work. He tried to keep his focus on the table as he felt their eyes on the back of his head, and heard their quiet murmurs. It didn't take him long to figure out what they were talking about. Tobias hadn't noticed that most of the boys had their food until Chuck came and sat beside him. The young boy placed a hot, steaming bowl of beef and noodles in front of him, along with a tall glass of water.

"Tris asked me to bring you some food, but I would have brought you some anyway." He gave Tobias an impish grin.

Tobias felt a burst of warmth for the kid, "Thanks, Chuck." He hadn't realised how hungry he was until he started eating- or rather, attacking his food. The boy eyed him wearily, as if surprised by his actions. "What? I'm hungry."

"In that case," Chuck said, "You eat like a pig when you're hungry."

"Haha, you never cease to amaze me with your astounding wit." Tobias mumbled sarcastically through a mouth full of food.

The two continued eating in silence for a bit longer, until Chuck said, "You're the talk of the town by the way." As if on cue, the boys on the table next to them started up their murmuring again.

"You don't say." Tobias said, taking a big gulp of water before returning to his food.

"Well, it's not like they shouldn't. I mean," _Why now?_ Tobias thought. "First you go out into the Maze when you're not supposed to, at night. Then you turn into some kind of freaky jungle dude, tying people to walls and all-"

"It was Minho's idea." Tobias lied, Chuck looked at him condescendingly.

"He says different. Anyway," he drawled. "Next you become one of the first people to survive the night in the Maze. And to top it off, you killed four Grievers. No wonder those Shanks are talkin'." Tobias didn't respond to the boys praise, preferring to keep the attention away from himself. He looked towards the doorway, hoping Tris would come out soon. The two sat in silence, Tobias having finished his dinner and Chuck almost done. The boy had a stray noodle sticking to his chin and Tobias had to stifle a laugh, deciding a smile would suffice.

Newt walked up to them, looking like death on two feet, and sat himself down in front of them. The Glader looked as sad and worried as anyone could possibly appear. "I think the worst part's over," He said, moving his food around the bowl absent minded. "The bugger should be sleepin' for a couple days, then wake up okay. Maybe a little screaming now and then."

Tobias had no idea what Alby was going through, but if he was reacting like this it sure wasn't good. "Newt, what's going on up there? I don't get what this Changing thing is."

"You think _we_ do?" He spat, quiet enough that the boys nearby could pay attention, "All we know is that the Grievers sting you with their bloody needles you get the Grief serum or you die. If you get the Serum, then your body wigs out and shakes and your skin bubbles and goes all freaky green and you vomit all over yourself. Is that good enough for ya, Four?"

Tobias frowned, he knew Newt was upset, he had good reason to be. But he needed answers at some stage. But he guessed now wasn't the time. Luckily, it seemed that Tris was finally finished for the day. Tobias took in her appearance, her hair more ruffled than before, with blond strands escaping the bun on top of her head. She looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion. When she saw him she grinned a little and made her way to their table, sitting beside Tobias and resting her head on her folded arms on the table.

"Rough night?" Newt asked mockingly. Tris merely nodded her head slightly in response, probably falling asleep already. The three boys chuckled, and Newt looked as though he remembered something. "I've called a Gathering, and you'll be there. You're the only buggin' thing on the agenda."

"Me?" Tobias asked, dreading it already.

"Turned this whole place upside down, you bloody shank. Half the Gladers think you're God-" Tris snickered at this, "And others want to throw you down the Box Hole. Lotta stuff to talk about."

"Like?" Tobias didn't like the sounds of this. He wasn't sure what was worse; that people thought him some sort of hero, or others wished him dead.

"Patience, you'll find out tomorrow after the wake up." And with that he got up and walked away, leaving Tobias wondering as to why a Gathering was needed to _only _talk about him.

**Authors Note: Please read it's important **

**Alright, I'm sorry, but I just can't find the motivation to write this fanfic anymore. And it's mainly just because I've moved away from the Maze Runner and Divergent series', and have found other novels and movies I prefer. I still believe both of these are amazing, but in a way I've gotten over them. So because of that I'm not going to continue with this story, but I am going to put it up for adoption for anyone who wishes to take it. Shoot me a review or PM to let me know if you want it, and then I'll let whoever is still reading this story know it's being written by a new author on a new 'chapter'. **

**A big thank you to everyone who has stuck by me with this story, and has PM'ed or reviewed. And I apologise for all the terrible grammar and spelling mistakes I have made along the way (Seriously, I read the previous chapters and I'm pretty embarrassed at my sucky writing). And I sincerely apologise for the long wait… yet again…hmm. **

**Hope you all had a very merry Christmas, for those of you who celebrated it, and that you all have a happy and prosperous New Year! :) May it be a year full of Fandom madness and Fanfiction :D**


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